The League of Taipei Social Welfare yesterday held a rally in front of Taipei City Hall to urge city residents to be more supportive of people with disabilities.
Dozens of people, including representatives from more than a dozen social welfare groups, people with disabilities and their relatives, held signs reading “We urge residents not to discriminate against people with disabilities” and “Support people with disabilities to legally enter communities.”
There have been three cases where proposals to establish institutions for people with intellectual disability or mental illnesses were rejected by area residents, the league said.
The Taipei Department of Social Welfare and welfare groups held several discussion sessions with neighbors about a proposed project, but nearby residents still oppose it, the league said.
One facility that opened this year is still targeted by protest banners erected by neighbors; while the management committee of another building boycotted plans for a workshop for young people with intellectual disability while the site was being renovated.
A woman, surnamed Lin (林), whose child was left intellectually disabled after a cerebral hypoxia incident, said such a disability is not a contagious disease and that she hopes her child could have a safe place to stay in and learn.
Rally participants presented a “flowers of courage” bouquet to Department of Social Welfare Deputy Commissioner Huang Ching-kao (黃清高) as a show of support for the department.
Huang said the department would continue to communicate with the public, and that facilities that have been legally approved would open following communication with local communities.
Asked at a later Taipei City Hall event about the rally, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said: “For Taiwan to become a civilized society, the public should have empathy for people with disabilities, and not reject them or stigmatize them.”
“The rally participants were just expressing their rights as citizens,” he said. “As mayor, I support it.”
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