President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) upset some people with disabilities yesterday by failing to have a sign-language specialist interpret his New Year’s address.
Taiwan Association for Disability Rights secretary-general Wang Yuling (王幼玲) said that no sign language interpreter was hired to translate Ma’s speech on the first day of the new year, nor the slogans the president shouted during the flag-raising ceremony held in front of the Office of the President.
The television stations broadcasting these events did not provide subtitles for the speech either, she added.
“Developed countries around the world all offer sign-language interpretation whenever the head of the state makes an important announcement,” Wang said. “By not providing this service, Taiwan really does not look like a civilized country that honors human rights.”
Wang said that thousands of people with disabilities took to the streets last year to demand equal access to information and cultural events, urging that the news and other televised programs be made accessible to all people. They also requested that press conferences hosted by the government agencies feature sign-language translation.
“We are surprised that Ma set such a terrible example on the first day of the year,” she said.
Wang said this was not the first time that the president had ignored the equal access to information rights of the hearing impaired.
During the inauguration ceremony for his second term last year, Ma’s address was neither interpreted in sign language nor broadcast with subtitles, she said.
After receiving complaints, the Presidential Office promised to improve, but did not make good on this promise during yesterday’s New Year’s address, Wang added, saying the Ma administration should list “barrier-free access to information” as a criterion in the evaluation of all government events.
The association said that the Ma administration has signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, both of which state that all individuals have the right to participate in public affairs and receive information on an equal basis.
This right is further enshrined in the People with Disabilities Rights Protection Act (身心障礙者權益保障法), which also states that access to public information should be barrier-free, the association said.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said
RSS