As he interacted with a guide dog for the first time yesterday, independent Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said he was amazed at the animal’s ability to lead him safely past obstacles while he was walking blindfolded and pledged to create a more accessible, friendly city environment for people with impairments if he is elected.
Normally, Ko is guided by his campaign staff when arriving at an event, but for a news conference to present his policy platform on accessibility, it was a guide dog that took the blindfolded Ko through the crowd to his seat.
“Wow, the dog is so well-trained, I’ve quite amazed,” Ko said after he was seated. “Accessibility for all is an important element of civilized society, so if I am elected, I will strive to make the city more accessible not only for the visually impaired, but for people with impaired abilities of any kind.”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
He mentioned that he had visited a park on Songjian Road (松江路) earlier and found that it was difficult for people in wheelchairs to enter because of road blocks.
“If elected, one of my priorities is to require all new buildings and public facilities to be fully accessible for everyone,” Ko said. “As for existing buildings and facilities, I would invite all advocacy groups for rights of the physically impaired to inspect these sites and make suggestions on how the Taipei City Government can help improve accessibility.”
Asked if he supports the idea that the city government should provide financial assistance for guide dog training, seeing as it costs about NT$1 million (US$320,000) to train one dog, Ko said he thinks that non-governmental organizations should take the lead on the matter, but that his administration would back them up.
Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Juan Chao-hsiung (阮昭雄), who was also at the news conference, said he thinks it is important to educate the public about guide dogs, since there are still many establishments, such as department stores or restaurants, that treat them as pets and therefore do not allow guide dogs on their premises.
In addition, raising awareness would help people who see the dogs on the street and want to pet or play with them understand the important job that the animals are doing, Juan said.
Meanwhile, asked to comment on remarks made by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rival Sean Lien (連勝文) that, if elected, he would fire any top-level city officials who make comments that are discriminatory toward women, Ko said that Lien’s stance was akin to “treating public servants like tissue paper,” implying that they are disposable.
“Of course, discriminatory comments should be condemned, but public servants should not be hired or fired at the mayor’s will,” Ko said. “Respecting the dignity of public servants is very important.”
Lien’s campaign spokesperson Chien Chen-yu (錢震宇) later responded that the physician was “slapping himself in the face” with his remark.
“Speaking in an exclusive interview with the China Times in January, Ko said that if he is elected, he would fire officials ‘with problems,’ but now he is slapping himself in the face,” Chien said, implying that Ko was being hypocritical. “This shows that Ko is the one who does not respect public servants.”
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