【明報專訊】"It takes me more than two hours to go from my home to Victoria Park," Ms Tang, who lives in Sham Shui Po, told a reporter. Suffering from a physical disability, she moves around in a wheelchair. She complained about unclear instructions at a mall in Admiralty, saying, "I went back and forth in the mall for more than an hour to find an escalator."
There are now more barrier-free facilities than there were in Hong Kong. However, the inadequacy has made life inconvenient for the handicapped. It has been pointed out that few restaurants in Hong Kong have washrooms for handicapped people. Some public vehicles do not have wheelchair ramps.
The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC, 平等機會委員會) has investigated properties managed by the Housing Authority and malls managed by The Link (領匯). Barrier-free facilities are not adequate in many districts. Convenor of the EOC Policy and Research Unit Fung Kin-kee (平機會政策及研究專責小組召集人馮檢基) reckoned the government should promote awareness for the need of barrier-free facilities in the mass media. He pointed out few TV programmes and dramas in Hong Kong are accompanied with sign language translations.
■Keywords
disabled……殘障
equal opportunity……平等機會
facility……設施
■Questions
1.What is the incident mentioned in the passage that may focus attention on the welfare of the disabled?
2.According to the brief article, how inadequate are barrier-free facilities in Hong Kong?
3.Are barrier-free facilities inadequate in your neighbourhood? What can be done to improve the situation?
■Further readings
1.Equal Opportunities Commission:http://www.eoc.org.hk
2.Hong Kong Federation for Handicapped Youth: http://www.hkfhy.org.hk
3.Hong Kong PHAB Association:http://www.hkphab.org.hk
