Seniors to play bigger role in development of accessible facilities, draft law says

Chinese seniors will be able to participate more in the construction of accessible facilities, which will help better ensure their safety and protection, an official with the National People's Congress said while introducing a draft law to the public on Friday.

The draft on the construction of a barrier-free environment is scheduled to be submitted to a session of the Standing Committee of the NPC, the country's top legislative body, for a second review next week.

"The draft has attached great importance to (meeting the needs of) senior citizens, because they are one of the primary groups in need of a barrier-free environment, in addition to the disabled," Zang Tiewei, spokesman for the NPC Standing Committee's Legislative Affairs Commission, told a news conference on Friday.

Zang said that the draft encourages government departments and enterprises to invite seniors and organizations that aid the elderly to share their opinions and take part in activities during the planning, design and completion of construction projects.

"For families of seniors who are living in homes undergoing renovations to create barrier-free facilities, the draft also allows the government to provide them with appropriate subsidies," he said.

It stipulates that the disabled have priority access to barrier-free parking spaces, but motor vehicles driven by or carrying elderly people with mobility difficulties may also be parked in such spaces, he added.

The draft, which aims to better meet the needs of China's elderly, disabled, pregnant women and children, received 1,040 suggestions from the public after it was first reviewed by the NPC Standing Committee in October.

"Many people, including some of the disabled, lauded the legislation, saying it will play a big role in protecting the rights and interests of the disabled and the elderly," Zang said.

To help more disabled people venture out of their homes, the draft clarifies that newly built, rebuilt or expanded public buildings, transportation stations and residential areas should be equipped with accessible facilities, he said, and it encourages more technologies to be used in the development of a barrier-free environment.

In addition, it also states that the country supports the establishment of information platforms concerning accessible facilities, so that the disabled and the elderly will be provided with remote and timely barrier-free services, he added.