Blind, why not help "blind"?
Reporters investigate the current situation of blindness in China on the eve of "International Day for the Blind"
Editor's note
October 15th is "International Day for the Blind".
According to data from the China Association for the Blind in 2019, there are 17.31 million visually disabled people in China.
China has always attached great importance to the protection of the rights and interests of persons with disabilities, including the blind. In recent years, the level of social security and basic public services for persons with disabilities has been significantly improved.
At the same time, due to the special situation of the disabled, especially the blind group, they will encounter many unimaginable difficulties in their daily life and work, and they will also have many practical needs that are different from ordinary people.
Starting today, the “Guarantee of the Rights and Interests of the Blind” series of reports will be published in the Jingwei Edition of the Rule of Law, in the hope that the rule of law will help protect the rights and interests of the blind to be better implemented.
● The reporter visited and investigated 10 blind tracks (segments) in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanxi and other places and found that each blind track had problems of varying degrees, including inconsistent blind tracks, obstacles, smooth tactile dots, and brick damage.
When interviewed by reporters, many blind people also reported that the blind track was occupied and it was difficult to travel.
● Difficulty in travel has led to other problems for the visually impaired in receiving education, social interaction, and achieving employment, resulting in a vicious circle of social exclusion and personal development obstacles.
This has an adverse effect on stimulating personal potential, exerting economic vitality, maintaining the core values of equality and freedom, and forming social unity, etc.
● It is recommended to upgrade the "Regulations on the Construction of Barrier-Free Environments" to law, clarify the responsible parties in each link in accordance with the law, and increase the coercive force of related provisions.
Adding a one-vote veto mechanism for barrier-free inspection and acceptance of buildings and public facilities from design to acceptance; improving relevant standards for barrier-free services; launching barrier-free public interest litigation for typical events to play a warning role
□ Our newspaper trainee reporter Sun Tianjiao
□ Our reporter Chen Lei
"Stop, stop!" When Wang Quanyou's (pseudonym) cane knocked on a rod-shaped object, a voice yelled.
It turned out that the blind stick came across the shelf where the frying pan was sold at the early stall.
The stall owner was anxious, saying that if he knocked over the oil pan and burned the customer, Wang Quanyou would be fully responsible.
At this moment, Wang Quanyou of Fengtai District, Beijing is standing on a blind road.
"I am a blind person walking normally on the blind path, how can I know that there is a pan of oil on the blind path?!"
Wang Quan's experience is not unique.
A reporter from "Rules of Law Daily" recently visited and investigated 10 (segments) blind tracks in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanxi and other places and found that each blind track has problems of varying degrees, including incoherent blind tracks, obstacles, smooth tactile dots, and bricks. Block damage, etc.
When interviewed by reporters, many blind people also reported that the blind track was occupied and it was difficult to travel.
Blind, why not help "blind"?
Blind way is often occupied
It is difficult for the blind to travel
Blind track is a way to lay a fixed form of floor tiles on the sidewalk or other places, so that the visually impaired can produce the tactile sensation of the blind cane and the foot, and guide the visually impaired to walk forward and identify the direction to reach the destination.
However, when reporters visited the 10 blind roads investigated, various obstacles hindered the blind people's travel has become a common phenomenon.
In Wangjing Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing, a blind road is close to the bus station, and shared bicycles are often parked during rush hours; on Chenyang Road, Hedong District, Tianjin, because there are many shops along the road, vans, tricycles, etc. have stopped on the blind road. , And this blind road has been damaged in many places; in front of the Yuncheng Shopping Center Building in Shanxi Province, the blind road is full of cars and shared electric vehicles, and it is close to telephone poles and curb obstacles...
During the visits to observe the blind track in many places, the reporter did not find any blind people using the blind track.
"No blind people use the blind track" has become the "reason" for some citizens to occupy the blind track.
At about 9 am on October 8, the reporter observed at a bus station in Beijing and found that many citizens parked shared bicycles directly on the blind track and said, "Everyone is like this, no one says not to stop."
One of the interviewed women said: "There is no other place to stop nearby, is it on the main road? And I have never seen a blind person pass by this road, and the blind road is empty."
It is difficult to travel on the blind road, and the visually impaired have a deep understanding.
Zhou Tong, 31 this year, has a congenital dysplasia of the fundus and only weak light perception in his eyes. Currently, he works as a new media operator for a company in Beijing that specializes in making mobile games for the blind.
"When I traveled alone, I was not familiar with the road conditions and had to rely on the blind track. But some blind tracks were not obvious enough that I couldn't sense them; some didn't avoid obstacles and hit them while walking; There were various vehicles parked on some of them, so they had to go around, and accidentally went around the main road." Zhou Tong told reporters.
When walking the blind road, Zhou Tong knocked her legs, bumped her head, hit the wall, and fell a lot of somersaults. Later, she was reluctant to walk the blind road. , But it’s better than walking the blind road.”
Wang Quanyou said that he also encountered various problems on the blind path.
In addition to almost hitting the pan, he once hit the wheel of a car.
When he hit the wheel with a blind cane to identify objects, the driver shouted at him: "Don't touch my car." "Obviously your car is blocking the blind road. Why does it seem that I have become a troublemaker?" Wang Quan said helplessly.
Yang Qingfeng is an independent life training instructor for the "Golden Cane" visually impaired. He is mainly responsible for training the visually impaired in independent travel, technological assistance, cooking and other life skills.
"I taught them how to use the blind track to travel, but in reality, the blind track is pushing them back." Yang Qingfeng told reporters that he had repeatedly heard and witnessed his trainees being injured by obstacles on the blind track, and some even claimed that "I don't want to go out", which makes him feel sad.
"The blind track can be regarded as the most basic travel facility for the blind. The problem of the blind track has been repeatedly mentioned for so many years, but it has not been effectively solved. This has caused a lot of trouble for the blind to travel." Yang Qingfeng said.
Blind way problems are common
Regulation has not kept up
Wang Quanyou once reported to the relevant departments the problem of the blind track being occupied, but the result was not satisfactory.
"I once called the 12345 hotline and reported it to the relevant departments, but usually the road conditions will be several days after the report, and the old attitude will soon reappear." Wang Quanyou said.
What makes Wang Quanyou even more injured is that he once questioned the occupiers of the blind track. Some people not only did not understand, but also directly said "the disabled should go out less", "you can use the blind track, but we can't use it". Discourse.
"The problems of the blind track directly affect the barrier-free travel rights enjoyed by the visually impaired, and to a certain extent deprive them of their freedom to participate in social life on an equal basis." Professor of Law School of Wuhan University, Professional Committee for the Protection of Rights and Interests of the Chinese Society for the Development of Disabled Persons Director Zhang Wanhong said that travel difficulties have led to other problems for the visually impaired in receiving education, social interaction, and employment, resulting in a vicious circle of social exclusion and obstacles to personal development.
This has had an adverse effect on stimulating personal potential, exerting economic vitality, maintaining the core values of equality and freedom, and forming social solidarity.
Li Qingzhong, chairman of the China Association for the Blind, said that the problem of blind tracks is more common, and the more prominent ones are occupied blind tracks, damaged blind tracks, and irregular paving.
The interviewed experts pointed out that behind the problem of blindness, there are many reasons such as insufficient legal supply of barrier-free facilities, lack of public awareness, and ineffective follow-up supervision.
In this regard, Li Qingzhong analyzed that, for example, the blind track management chain is long, involving planning, design, construction, routine maintenance, supervision, etc., problems in each link may cause obstacles; there are many management entities, and the blind tracks in different areas belong to different departments. Management: The blind track is occupied and other behaviors lack clear penalties and standards, and the supervision is not strong enough.
"In modern society, large cities have dense populations, limited urban space, and difficult governance, which are also the objective reasons for the above problems." Li Qingzhong said.
In Zhang Wanhong's view, the phenomenon of the blind track being occupied has always existed but it has not been effectively controlled. On the one hand, the implementation rules and law enforcement bodies related to the blind track construction of barrier-free laws and regulations are absent.
On the other hand, the disabled group's own supervision power is insufficient, the public awareness of the society is weak, and the dilemma of "the law does not account for the public" appears.
According to the provisions of the Law on the Protection of the Disabled, the construction and transformation of barrier-free facilities should meet the actual needs of the disabled.
New construction, reconstruction and expansion of buildings, roads, transportation facilities, etc. shall comply with the relevant national barrier-free facility engineering construction standards.
People's governments at all levels and relevant departments shall, in accordance with the national barrier-free facility project construction regulations, gradually advance the renovation of established facilities, and give priority to the advancement of the renovation of public service facilities that are closely related to the daily work and life of persons with disabilities.
The barrier-free facilities shall be repaired and protected in a timely manner.
The Regulations on the Construction of Barrier-free Environments also clarify that if the owner or manager of the barrier-free facilities fails to protect or repair the barrier-free facilities in a timely manner, causing them to be unable to be used normally, the relevant competent department shall order them to be repaired within a time limit; resulting in the use of persons and property. In case of damage, the owner or manager of the barrier-free facility shall be liable for compensation.
Zhao Lizhi, director of the International Law Teaching and Research Office of Beijing Foreign Studies University Law School, told reporters that China is one of the earliest sponsors of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It has officially ratified the Convention as early as June 2008, plus a series of laws on the protection of persons with disabilities. The promulgation of domestic laws and regulations shows that China attaches great importance to the rights of persons with disabilities.
However, judging from the problems of the blind path in practice, there are still shortcomings in implementing the barrier-free principle, which is one of the basic principles of the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities.
Zhao Lizhi gave an example that according to the Regulations on the Construction of Barrier-Free Environments, when the owner or manager of the blind track fails to protect or repair the blind track in a timely manner, the relevant competent authority should order the maintenance within a time limit.
"But the problem is that there is a lack of implementation rules in practice, and it is difficult to clarify the specific responsibilities of relevant departments. That is to say, although we have regulations, there are still blanks in the regulations on how to operate and by whom."
Zhao Lizhi also mentioned that China's "Barrier-free Design Code" actually has more detailed regulations on blind passages, but there is currently a lack of monitoring of the implementation.
"Whether the blind track is occupied or the design is unreasonable, it is inseparable from the failure to keep up with the supervision, and the specific regulations on supervision are missing in the current law." Zhao Lizhi said.
In Zhang Wanhong's view, even if the law is more detailed and strict for the construction of blind roads and even the construction of barrier-free environments in general, if it is only implemented from a management perspective, there is a lack of "user perspective", especially a lack of channels for people with disabilities to use various channels. Express needs, feedback experience, remedy damage, and have the feasible ability to assert and realize equal traffic rights, it is inevitable that various loopholes will appear.
Play a supervisory role
Included in the performance appraisal
In the face of problematic blind roads, how should we manage to protect the blind people’s right to travel?
From the perspective of the construction of the rule of law, Zhao Lizhi believes that the linkage between the "Barrier-free Design Code" and the "Barrier-Free Environment Construction Regulations" can be strengthened. Other legal documents should include the "Accessibility Design Code."
In this way, to a certain extent, the situation where the accountability problem stipulated in the "Accessible Environment Regulations" cannot be relied upon can be resolved.
Li Qingzhong suggested that the existing "Regulations on the Construction of Barrier-free Environments" should be upgraded to law, the main body of responsibility for each link should be clarified in accordance with the law, and the coercive force of relevant provisions should be strengthened.
For example, in every link of building and public facilities from design to acceptance, one-vote veto mechanism for barrier-free acceptance, including blind paths, is added; relevant standards for barrier-free services are improved; barrier-free public interest litigation is initiated for typical events to play a warning role.
Zhang Wanhong's suggestion is to strengthen the special legislation in the field of barrier-free, clarify the implementation rules, compact the responsible body, set rewards and punishment rules, and enhance the binding force of related regulations.
From a practical perspective, Zhang Wanhong called for strengthening the coordination role of working committees for persons with disabilities at all levels, to better utilize the joint efforts of government functional departments in the construction of blind tracks, and to give full play to the supervision and service role of social organizations for persons with disabilities.
For the design, construction, acceptance or renovation of the blind track, it is necessary to fully listen to the suggestions of the local visually impaired and their representative organizations; for the occupation and damage of the blind track, more social forces can be encouraged to play a supervisory role; for the maintenance and management of the blind track, try It is guaranteed and implemented through the government's purchase of social services.
Zhao Lizhi believes that behind the blind track is the barrier-free problem faced by the disabled, including the blind, and relevant staff of government departments should be regularly trained to protect the rights of the disabled, especially the maintenance of barrier-free public facilities such as the blind track. It should be included in the daily performance evaluation of relevant government departments.
From a specific operational perspective, Zhang Wanhong believes that when barrier-free facilities such as blind tracks have not been built or perfected, other means can be used to supplement them to ensure the provision of equal and inclusive public transportation services.
Especially in bus stops and other public service places, adequate and professional manual guidance should be provided.
"It is necessary to take the equal participation of the visually impaired as the core, and from the perspective of improving the travel chain, systematically solve the problem of difficulty for the visually impaired to travel. The blind track is only a part of the barrier-free facilities for the visually impaired. Interlocking barrier-free environment, such as the setting of notification sounds at the intersection of traffic lights, and the voice announcement of floors, platforms, arrivals and other information at bus stops and subway stations." Zhang Wanhong suggested.
From the perspective of information technology, Li Qingzhong suggested actively using modern technology, 5G and artificial intelligence technology to develop intelligent blind guide products such as blind guide robots to effectively solve the problem of blind travel.
"Blind tracks cannot solve all travel problems, such as identifying the surrounding environment, crossing the road, changing to other public transportation, accurately finding destinations, etc., and the development of information technology is expected to solve these problems systematically. In the future, the'intelligent blind track' may Replace the visible blind way." Li Qingzhong said.