"I've been standing on the dock on one foot for almost ten minutes, and I don't even have a person, my feet are numb, and I can't hold back my tears." Xiao Yang stood on the shore of Weizhou Island, waiting for rescuers to arrive.
Xiao Yang, who has lived in Hong Kong for five years, took advantage of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday to go back to the mainland to play, but accidentally fell and sprained, and Xiao Yang temporarily became a "person with reduced mobility".
"As soon as I got off the high-speed train, there were staff members waiting for me in a wheelchair, accompanying me all the way through customs until I was sent to the taxi." Xiao Yang told reporters, "When I arrived at the destination, the taxi driver helped me out of the car, placed me in a wheelchair, and then drove away." "Generally speaking, Hong Kong taxis charge for luggage in the trunk, but are exempt from the cost of wheelchairs or crutches.
"It's been five years since I came to Hong Kong, and my first experience was carried into Hong Kong!" Xiao Yang said.
In Hong Kong, it seems that people with disabilities are more likely to be seen than in other cities. In 2020, there were 534,200 persons with disabilities in Hong Kong, accounting for 7.1% of the total population of Hong Kong, which is estimated to range from 77,000 to 90,000, with a prevalence rate of 1.0% to 1.2%.
See a fallen leaf, and know that the year will be twilight; See the water in the bottle, and know the cold of the world. The ease of travel for people with disabilities reflects the benefits of a city's development, and when people with disabilities walk on the streets, they feel the safety and comfort of the community.
In fact, the observant reader will notice that "disability care" can be found everywhere in Hong Kong.
For example, there are two types of entry and exit gates in Hong Kong MTR stations, one is a narrow gate for regular use, and the other is a wide gate for passengers with large luggage or reduced mobility.
When commuting by subway, I often see MTR employees waiting on the platform with a "wheelchair ramp" to assist wheelchair users in and out of the subway safely.
A device dedicated to charging electric wheelchairs in the MTR
The same goes for buses, unlike most buses in the mainland, Hong Kong buses are designed with ultra-low floors, the body is only 25 cm from the ground, there are no stairs at the entrance, and the wheelchair ramp is set at the entrance of the bus, which can be easily reversed for wheelchair users at any time.
In addition, major public transport modes such as trams, public light buses and ferries have dedicated areas to cater for the needs of persons with disabilities.
Kudos to Hong Kong's transportation services!
Those who come to Hong Kong will also notice that many tourist attractions, public transportation, hotels and restaurants, and even roadside phone booths and toilets in shopping malls are equipped with dedicated assistive facilities to facilitate the travel of people with disabilities, such as tactile warning signs, tactile plane navigation diagrams and small lifting devices (wheelchair lifts) designed for wheelchairs on the handrails of steps in public places. Experience the customs and social goodness of Hong Kong without barriers.
Elevators in Hong Kong are equipped with Braille numerals
Touch maps everywhere
In addition, there are blind lanes everywhere in Hong Kong, you can walk freely to wherever you want to go, and even shopping malls will set up blind lanes, there will be no "suddenly disappearing blind lanes", as well as vehicles, trees or telephone poles that occupy the blind lanes, and there will even be people who regularly update and maintain the blind lanes, giving people with disabilities who travel alone "full of security".
The trickle of warmth flowing in the society shows that the degree of urban civilization is increasing day by day.
In addition to hard power, there is also soft care.
Caring for the disabled posters can be seen everywhere on the streets, striving to provide an equal social environment for the disabled. The Government also strongly supports employment training for persons with disabilities and chronic diseases to enable them to become self-reliant. For example, Hong Kong provides comprehensive and systematic social rehabilitation services such as pre-school services, day services, residential services, enhanced services, self-reliance services, and community support services to the disabled, so as to help them develop their abilities as much as possible and fully integrate into society.
In the past five years, the Career Development and Placement Scheme (WAP) launched by the HKSAR Government has helped nearly 1,000 persons with disabilities to re-enter the workforce. From September 2020 onwards, the company will receive a subsidy of up to $60,000 for each person with disabilities who has employment difficulties.
In February 2024, the Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, announced that the Government would allocate $130 million through the Community Care Fund to implement a three-year implementation scheme starting from the second half of this year to provide an additional $500 per month subsidy to working persons with disabilities receiving CSSA to encourage employment.
According to the latest statistics for 2020, about 86 300 of the 96 900 employable persons with disabilities were employed, with an unemployment rate of 11% (the overall unemployment rate in Hong Kong was 5.8% in the same year).