More should be done to enhance sidewalk accessibility, disabled rights advocates said yesterday at a hearing at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
“There are more than 16 government agencies that are free to ‘rape’ or trample over sidewalks, but we cannot find a unified government agency responsible for approving things,” Access for All in Taiwan project manager Chen Ming-li (陳明里) said, adding that regulations technically mandate a sidewalk width of 1.5m, but lack of space often leads that to be shrunk to 90cm, potentially creating problems for wheelchairs.
“When wheelchairs are opened up, they take up more than 68cm, so where are they supposed to go if some agency adds a light pole or a traffic light control box to a narrow band of pavement?” Chen said.
A lack of government action and slow progress were common themes from those who testified at the Internal Administration Committee hearing convened by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智).
“Over the past 30 years, I have been hit by cars three times,” said Liu Yi-yun (劉逸雲), a Republic of China Spinal Cord Injury Victims Association consultant who uses a wheelchair.
“As an electric wheelchair does not count as a ‘vehicle’ under traffic laws, I am actually liable if I am hit while going down a street instead of the sidewalk, but the problem is that sometimes I cannot use the sidewalk,” Liu said.
Parents Association for the Visually Impaired secretary-general Lan Chie-chou (藍介洲) called on government agencies to level pavements inside building arcades and reduce the number of arcade stairs, adding that blind people face huge obstacles crossing roads because of the absence of traffic lights with audio signals.
“People often assume that my guide dog can tell me when the signal turns, but the reality is that dogs are color blind. I have to pay attention to what I hear and order him to take me across the road when it sounds safe,” he said, adding that he has been trapped in the middle of the road numerous times after misjudging the situation.
Taiwan Institute of Landscape Architects president emeritus Monica Kuo (郭瓊瑩) called for a portion of the NT$880 billion (US$29 billion) “Forward-looking Infrastructure Construction Project” announced by Premier Lin Chuan (林全) last week to be allocated to improving accessibility.
“The NT$1.5 billion [budgeted by the Ministry of the Interior’s Construction and Planning Agency for accessibility] might sound like a lot, but after you sprinkle it among all the nation’s townships and cities, it is just the remainder of budgetary scraps,” she said.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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