We need to emphasize our value to society

The 2008 Beijing Olympics brought great changes to the city's accessible environment for people with disabilities.

For example, some steps were turned into ramps, while subway stations without elevators started providing wheelchair-lifting platforms, which made travel easier for people with disabilities.

However, there is still a lot of room for improvement with barrier-free facilities. Also, many things designed for people with disabilities, such as restrooms or ramps, can't be used－either because they don't meet government standards or they are used for other purposes. Meanwhile, a lot of places still lack such facilities.

As we travel more, we often find that it is not that there are no standards, but that the people who implement them choose not to do their best.

Take ramps as an example. Even a 1-centimeter height difference between the slope and the ground will cause a wheelchair to become stuck, so some people will fall to the ground. Often, accessible parking spaces and elevators are linked by stairs, which we cannot use.

If governments and construction companies don't want to build truly accessible facilities, they shouldn't waste the money and occupy spaces that should have been fitted with usable structures.

In 2012, the central government issued regulations on the construction of barrier-free environments as a way to promote an accessible society.

From 2019, the Beijing government carried out a three-year action plan to build and renovate accessible facilities in the capital.

In April, the central government issued a mandatory code that put forward bottom-line requirements for the construction of accessible facilities.

The code says that any violations will be severely dealt with, in accordance with the law. It even includes regulations on the maintenance of facilities.

Long ago, people needed to be taught about the necessity of building accessible facilities.

Now, though, we have entered a new stage, where all stakeholders and the public should also be aware of the need to improve the quality of such facilities.

Legislation should be formulated to promote barrier-free construction to address the problem in a meaningful way. In fact, improvements in accessible facilities are aimed at reducing the time that people with disabilities are isolated from society.

After I had a spinal cord injury in a car accident, I stayed home for four years. Later, I found that I had fallen behind in terms of education and other factors. I wasted so much time.

I think the social environment should be more accessible to help people with disabilities reassert their value to society.

Tang Zhanxin spoke with Li Hongyang.