When will the "right to guide the blind" for the visually impaired come to fruition

Guide dogs entering restaurants and hotels are opposed to taking public transportation and questioned

　　● A guide dog is not an ordinary pet dog, but an assistant for the blind to travel.

The use of guide dogs for the visually impaired and carrying guide dogs in and out of public places are also the legal rights and interests granted to the blind by national laws and regulations

　　● At present, the “right to guide the blind” of the visually impaired still encounters many practical difficulties. On the one hand, there is a huge gap between the number of guide dogs and the needs of the visually impaired; , The legal right of the visually impaired to travel with a guide dog is difficult to implement

　　● Determine the development of information accessibility in legislation, incorporate information accessibility into relevant laws and regulations, including the development direction of information accessibility, industry norms, skills training, financial support, etc., and standardize regulations through laws to protect blind people’s right to guide the blind "

　　Trainee reporter Sun Tianjiao

　　Our reporter Chen Lei

　　On the streets of Shanghai, a lady wearing a dark red shirt and black pants walked down the road teeth and fell and was next to a black dog.

　　This is a video that has caused heated discussion on the Internet recently. The woman in the video is a visually impaired person and the black dog is a guide dog.

According to media reports, her guide dog defecated at a fixed point in the community and was complained or even driven by other residents in the community. She had to walk out of the community with her guide dog and fell down accidentally.

　　A reporter from the Rule of Law Daily found in an interview that at present, the “right to guide the blind” of the visually impaired still encounters many practical difficulties. On the one hand, there is a huge gap between the number of guide dogs and the needs of the visually impaired. The public's acceptance of guide dogs is not high, and it is difficult for the visually impaired to travel with guide dogs.

Guide dogs become travel partners for the blind

Obstruction in public places adds troubles

　　On the afternoon of March 21, the weather was fine. A reporter from the Rule of Law Daily rushed to a community in Puhuangyu, Fengtai District, Beijing, to interview the visually impaired Wang Zhihua and Zhou Tong.

　　Wang Zhihua, 39, and Zhou Tong, 31, are a couple.

Wang Zhihua is completely blind and both eyes are prosthetic eyes; Zhou Tong has congenital fundus dysplasia, with only light perception in his eyes.

　　The two each have a guide dog. Wang Zhihua's guide dog is named "Mango" and Zhou Tong's guide dog is named "Xiaojie".

　　Their room was clean and tidy, and there were a number of group photos on the bookshelves and wardrobes, and there were two guide dogs in the group photos.

In the face of strangers, the two guide dogs acted "calmly" and did not scream or walk around randomly during the entire interview.

　　Wang Zhihua works for an Internet company in Xierqi, Haidian District, Beijing, and Zhou Tong works as a new media operator for a blind mobile game company in Daxing District, Beijing.

Because the work place is far from home, they mainly travel by bus or subway, and guide dogs have become extremely important travel partners in their lives.

　　"It has been almost 5 years since I brought the mangoes back. We can say that we have not been separated 365 days a year." Wang Zhihua uses the term "inseparable" to describe the relationship between himself and the guide dog.

　　In Wang Zhihua’s view, the guide dog has brought him great convenience in his travel. Not only does he travel much faster than when using a blind stick, but it also brings more emotional comfort. However, “when traveling with a mango , I still encountered some troubles."

　　According to Wang Zhihua, he once took a guide dog out to eat, but was opposed by other customers in the restaurant.

The old man at the table next door resolutely disagrees with him bringing mangoes to dinner, even if he has already introduced that this is a guide dog that will not bite people, and he has relevant documents.

In addition, Wang Zhihua was often refused when he brought a guide dog to the hotel, and was questioned by other passengers when he took the subway.

　　When Zhou Tong and a friend took Xiaojie for a walk in the community, the residents objected to him because Xiaojie had a bowel movement.

After Zhou Tong picked up the feces of the guide dog, the residents still said "No, the urine smells like", and even threw stones to drive the guide dog away.

　　"It's not that they are inhumane, but they don't know. It's not that they don't understand, but they don't." During the interview, Wang Zhihua quoted Deng Pufang, the honorary chairman of the China Disabled Persons' Federation, to express his helplessness.

Slow development due to socialization operation

More efforts are needed to increase the number

　　Both Wang Zhihua and Zhou Tong applied for their guide dogs at the Dalian Training Base for Guide Dogs in China.

　　According to Wang Zhihua, before he is officially qualified for adoption, he needs to submit an application and queue up. When the number is approaching, the Dalian Training Base of China Guide Dogs will send people to inspect the applicant's specific situation.

"Inspect whether you can walk normally with a blind stick without a guide dog. At the same time, see if you have such a need and if you go out every day. In addition, it will also examine your income and require you to have a stable Income, to prevent abandonment after adoption."

　　After confirming that he met the requirements for adoption, Wang Zhihua went to the Dalian Training Base of China Guide Dogs for a one-month training with the adopted guide dogs.

　　"The training during this period is actually aimed at me. I need to figure out what its every move means, how to order it and how to understand it. Then there is to cultivate personal habits." Wang Zhihua said.

　　But for more visually impaired people, the guide dog is still too far away from them, because the guide dog in our country is far from meeting the demand.

　　According to information published on the official website of the China Association for the Blind in May 2019, there are 17.31 million visually disabled people in my country, and there is a huge demand for guide dogs.

In the past decade, Dalian, Liaoning, Nanjing, Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Guangdong, Guangzhou, Beijing and other places have successively established or are setting up guide dog training institutions, and more than 160 guide dogs have been trained.

　　Li Qingzhong, chairman of the China Association for the Blind, said in an interview with a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily that although guide dog training in my country has been explored for more than ten years, it is still in its infancy and "far from meeting the needs of the blind."

　　According to Li Qingzhong, according to the standards of the International Guide Dog Federation, only 1% of visually impaired people in a country can use guide dogs before it can be called the popularization of guide dogs.

According to this standard, my country's demand for guide dogs is around 170,000.

"At present, the number of breeding and training of guide dogs in our country is very limited, there are also few institutions, and the number of guide dogs is very low."

　　In 2018, the national standard for "Guide Dogs" was officially released.

According to national standards, guide dogs need to have a complete pedigree, with a clear source of three generations, and non-aggressive.

Before a guide dog goes into service, it will go through a foster care and training period of about two years, learn more than 30 commands and instructions, and remember more than 5 destinations.

　　In Li Qingzhong's view, the reason for the slow development of the guide dog industry is that these guide dog training institutions mainly rely on socialized operations, that is, rely on social financial support.

　　"Because the cost of breeding and training a guide dog is relatively high. From its birth to becoming a qualified guide dog, it takes a lot of manpower and material resources, especially the training of some professionals, so this industry still needs greater support. This support should not only include social support, but also requires the state to provide more care from the policy level." Li Qingzhong said.

　　In addition, Li Qingzhong mentioned that the training and certification system for guide dog professionals has not yet been established in our country, including the certification of guide dogs. "The base has the final say if the pre-training is qualified or unqualified."

Relevant regulations and rules need to be promulgated urgently

Promote the realization of the rights of blind people to guide the blind

　　Driven by the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, the revised Law on the Protection of Disabled Persons and the Regulations on the Construction of Barrier-Free Environments enacted in 2012 specifically added provisions to allow guide dogs to enter public places.

　　Article 58 of the Law on the Protection of Persons with Disabilities stipulates that blind persons carrying guide dogs in and out of public places shall abide by relevant state regulations.

　　Article 16 of the "Regulations on the Construction of Barrier-Free Environments" stipulates that visually disabled persons who bring guide dogs into and out of public places shall abide by relevant state regulations, and staff in public places shall provide barrier-free services in accordance with relevant state regulations.

　　Li Qingzhong believes: “Guide dogs are not ordinary pet dogs. Many people don’t realize this now. Guide dogs are assistants for blind people. It is also the state for the visually impaired to use guide dogs and carry guide dogs in and out of public places. Laws and regulations confer the legal rights and interests of the blind."

　　Zhang Dongwang, deputy director of the rights protection department of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, told the reporter of the Rule of Law Daily that the public’s awareness of accessibility, including the function of guide dogs and the importance of guide dogs to the blind, needs to be improved.

　　In Wang Zhihua’s view, guide dogs are only part of the blind’s “right to guide the blind.” “Blind track breaks, turns, and unqualified phenomena are more common, which increases the difficulty of blind people’s guidance and makes many blind people unwilling to go out.”

　　Zhang Dongwang said: "Whether it is from the international Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the domestic law on the protection of persons with disabilities, the Road Traffic Safety Law, and the "Regulations on the Construction of Barrier-Free Environments" all stipulate the rights of blind people to travel and guide the blind. At the same time, it clearly stipulates that the blind people’s "right to guide the blind" shall be implemented through facilities such as blind tracks, guide dog services, and information technology. This is also an important right for the blind to participate in social life."

　　In Zhang Dongwang's view, in practice, the "right to guide the blind" that the blind enjoy in accordance with the law has not yet been fully implemented, and it needs urgent attention and a corresponding specific system to protect it.