Facing up to the needs of persons with disabilities (2013/11/27)

President, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the Convention) became effective on the Mainland (including Hong Kong) on 31 August 2008. In 2010, the SAR Government's initial report drafted under the Convention was submitted to the United Nations as part of China's combined initial reports for deliberation. In September 2012, the United Nations made a series of improvement recommendations to Hong Kong. 

As far as the recommendations are concerned, Hong Kong indeed still has some ways to go before achieving the target of an integrated society. For example, Hong Kong still cannot meet the target of creating a barrier-free environment for PWDs to go around. Even though the barrier-free facilities in government-managed buildings, leisure facilities, tourist attractions and public housing estates have gradually been enhanced in recent years, the overall coverage of barrier-free facilities in Hong Kong are still far from meeting the actual needs. Besides, there are also not enough channels of information.

President, with increasing access to information, PWDs would check relevant information before going out to ensure there are barrier-free facilities on the way. These facilities include lifts, ramps at building entrances, toilets for the disabled, and assistive aids for the visually impaired. The information of these barrier-free facilities in Hong Kong is quite scattered. PWDs would mainly check the website of their travel destinations to see if there are any barrier-free facilities. Or they would take reference from maps, small hints and information gathered by some rehabilitation associations and volunteer organizations. However, if they just depend on the support of the organizations mentioned above, there will surely be limitations in the sources and updatedness of the information. Besides, its effectiveness cannot be sustained due to inadequate subsidies.

As Hong Kong is an international metropolis, I suggest that the Government should be responsible for co-ordinating the information of barrier-free facilities, so as to provide a one-stop enquiry service on platforms like maps, websites and mobile applications for use by PWDs and tourists. The information provided has to be comprehensive and timely. The Government has to make a long-term commitment and undertake the necessary responsibilities in this regard. 

To avoid overlapping of resources, the Government may consider working with the existing relevant service organizations and provide financial support to them, so as to better utilize their resources and enhance the service effectiveness. Meanwhile, it can consider hiring more PWDs to act as inspectors from a user perspective to gather information of barrier-free facilities in all districts, offer suggestions for improvement of facilities, and provide timely updates of information on the official platforms. By so doing, this project can also create some job vacancies for PWDs.

President, apart from enabling PWDs to walk out of their homes independently, our ultimate aim is to help them build up confidence, enjoy equality in their lives, and achieve self-realization. Encouraging and assistingthem to seek employment is one of the important paths for them to integrate into society. Mr LEUNG mentioned in his motion that "the Government and subvented organizations should take the lead in employing more persons with disabilities, with 2% as the target rate". That is fine in principle. It is nice for the Government to take the lead, but caution is needed when promoting this practice to other enterprises. 

As we all know, PWDs include those with physical handicaps, hearing or visual impairment, intellectual disabilities, mental illness, Autism, speech and language impairment, as well as chronic illness. In order to tackle their employment problems, it is necessary to help different types of PWDs find job positions that suit their needs. The most ideal way is to match them with different jobs in accordance with their physical characteristics. By doing so, they can receive effective support and work in a suitable environment where they can build up their social circles and develop a sense of belonging to the company.

Therefore, I am against using administrative orders to increase their employment figures without considering whether the job nature and work environment are suitable to them. If employments are offered just for the sake of employment, it would probably end up as "doing bad things with good intentions" without any benefit for the physical and mental well-being of PWDs. Rather, it would probably trigger another kind of discrimination and complaint. 

Mr CHAN Han-pan proposed in his amendment "to provide tax concessions to employers who employ persons with disabilities to encourage them to employ more persons with disabilities", and "to proactively support rehabilitation organizations to set up social enterprises, with a view to providing employment opportunities for persons with disabilities". I think these two proposals are more practical. It was earlier reported in the media that a restaurant boss earned much applause by proactively employing PWDs. In fact, many enthusiastic people working in large, medium or small enterprises are willing to help these disadvantaged groups. If the Government can provide tax incentives, I guess there will be more and more enterprises making such good
deed.

President, I hope that this debate will prompt the Government to make a commitment to allocate more resources to enable PWDs identify their roles in society, and to create a genuine integrated society.

President, I so submit.