I hate hearing the word cripple. Even today, as a tolerant, broad-minded adult, it still grates on my ears.

My parents always paid special attention to my education. They used to say, "You can't tote bricks or drive a taxi when you're older. Your only recourse is through study." My mother used to carry me to school every day, and after I got a wheelchair in the second grade, a classmate used to push me there. My schoolmates played an important role in my education right through college.

It's nice to feel respected! When I went to graduate school at Brigham Young University, I got along all on my own for the first time and came and went as I pleased.

I remember when I moved into the dorm, as soon as the school authorities found out I was handicapped they put a ramp in the doorway and a railing along the corridor, and somebody would come by to shovel a path for me whenever it snowed. I wheeled myself to and from classes all by myself, without anyone's help.

What I found even more surprising was that a sufferer from cerebral palsy with a heavy speech impediment was able to take part in class discussion with us. The professor would listen to her patiently as she slowly spoke each word at a time. It was very moving.

I gained a great sense of accomplishment during my time in the U.S. What I mean by that isn't getting a master's degree but rather being able to do a lot of things I hadn't been able to before.

I went window-shopping and bowling and even hunting once in my wheelchair, without getting weird looks. People in Taiwan don't seem very used to seeing handicapped people engage in physical activities. I drive to work and frequently get surprised looks. I once asked my wife to come along for a stroll at the Shihlin night market, and my mother asked me, "How do you stroll like that?"

Lend a helping hand: Actually, I often have to heave a sigh at "not being able to budge an inch." When the new Taipei Train Station first opened, I took my wife along to have a look. It turned out there was no elevator to the department store on the second level, only an escalator, which the wheelchair couldn't go up. I went to the vice station manager's office to have a "discussion" about that.

The National Central Library has obstacle-free facilities but the ramp is too long and too steep. You have to take it all in one go, without pausing for breath along the way, or else you'll slip backwards as soon as you stop. It terrifies me every time I go there.

I know people are working hard to promote obstacle-free space, but the way things currently stand, handicapped people still need the help of the general public no matter where we go. I also know that many handicapped people are defensive about being helped, but I still say: Please don't just stand by and watch. A helping hand can save us a lot of time and effort.

(edited by Chang Chung-fang/ photo by Diago Chiu/tr. by Peter Eberly)

Li Hsiang-jung: Some shop doors have a lot of steps but no handrails. which amounts to a "no entry" as far as I am concerned.

Li Hsiang-jung (National Chunghsing University graduate in social work, presently working for the Eden Welfare Foundation for the Handicapped):

I do not need to use a wheelchair but can get about using rails and crutches, although there are still, of course, many difficulties.

No entry! Once you are out of the door it is all uneven arcades--one minute up, the next minute down. It really takes up a lot of energy. Some shop doors have a lot of steps but no handrails, which amounts to a "no entry" as far as I am concerned. What is also hard is that some places do have steps with handrails, but put flowerpots and electronic sensors next to them, so it is still impossible to move.

To avoid having to get on and off buses I bought an adapted motorcycle; although I have to put up with the sun and rain, it is best to weather it for the sake of being able to go out.

It is said that in some advanced countries the buses have lifts for wheelchairs for the convenience of the disabled. A friend who had come back from the United States told me that he once came across a bus without a lift, so he could not get on board--the driver immediately got off to apologize to him. Our present buses have a very high first step; don't even talk about wheelchairs getting on, it in very hard even with crutches.

Such inconveniences are very difficult for most people to understand. It is because of this that the Foundation specially organized such activities as their "disabled experience tour" and "understanding disabled life brigade," to allow people to get firsthand experience of what life is like when you are disabled.

Unable to move! When the Foundation's students take a wheelchair downtown, they discover just how hard it is to move along what, to them, is the normally easily traversable Chunghsiao East Road; how tasteless food is when they eat blind; how everybody has such different feelings about a film when they "listen" to it blind; how much energy they have to expend to move down the road on crutches; how difficult it is to cook with only one hand....

As far as the disabled are concerned, this is life. Many of the students cannot take the hardship and give up halfway through, but there are also many who go on to join the ranks of those serving with the Foundation.

I have already been working for three-and-a-half years in the social teaching unit of the Foundation's publicity department. After the Law on Welfare for the Disabled stipulated an employment quota, I became a much sought after "commodity"; many places try to winkle me out, but I cannot be budged. This is because I know that there is still a long road to travel in welfare work for the disabled, and many things that should be done. Staying at the Foundation, I can contribute even more.

(edited by Chang Chung-fang/ photo by Diago Chiu/tr. by Christ opher Hughes)

Cheng Teh-i: I haven't let my disability shut me up inside the house. I've had a go at just about everything.

Cheng Teh-i (former air force officer, now working as a translator):

I was a normal person until I was 25, when I became paralyzed from the waist down in an accident in the service, and I've had to rely on a wheelchair to get around ever since. Maybe it's my personality, but I haven't let my disability shut me up inside the house. I've had a go at just about everything. When I meet with difficulties, I try to think of a way to solve them, and that's given me a lot of experience.

It's not my fault! To solve the problem of transportation, I bought a car and spent more than NT$20,000 to have hand controls installed for the brakes and accelerator. I remember when I went to take my driver's license test in 1985, the examiner didn't know what to do. He finally gave me the okay--thanks to my ability to fly an airplane!

I'm on my third car now and I've found a wheelchair that's very convenient: It can be disassembled and placed next to the driver's seat when you get in and reassembled when you get out.

Frankly speaking, besides driving the car, other means of transportation are very difficult to use. I'm afraid to ride a motorcycle, and ordinary buses don't take wheelchairs. I tried riding the train once. Friends carried me on and off, but it turned out there was a big hole in the ground on the platform at Hualien station. The wheelchair got stuck and I was tossed out and injured.

As for flying, wheelchairs can't get up the boarding ramps used for domestic flights. The one time I flew, they carried me on and off. I felt like I was bothering them a bit, but it really wasn't my fault!

Self-reliance in everything: Swimming, flying a light plane... nothing's too tough for me. I also see movies a lot with friends. There's no area in the theater for wheelchairs, but that's no problem. I buy a ticket and go in like everyone else, but rather than taking a seat I sit in my wheelchair instead. If there's a turnstile at the entrance, I just go in through the exit. I've figured out how to get around all the problems.

When President Chiang Kai-shek passed away. I lined up for hours to get in the Sun Yat-sen Memorial to pay my respects but ended up shut out at the gate. My wheelchair would dirty the carpet, they said. I was determined. I argued so hard with the maintenance man he finally had to let me in.

For years my philosophy has been: Rely on yourself for everything. But if I'm not treated with respect, I'll speak up and fight to the bitter end.

(edited by Chang Chung-fang/ photo by Diago Chiu/tr. by Peter Eberly)

Lin Min-che: An obstacle-free environment is "in reserve" for everyone.

Lin Min-che (full-time instructor of architecture at China Junior College of Industrial and Commercial Management):

Ever since I incidentally came across a study about an "obstacle-free" environment in Japan, I threw myself into this work. It's been seven or eight years now. I deeply understand that an obstacle-free environment is the prerequisite for all handicapped welfare.

Don't drink before you lecture: In order to research and promote this view, I often come in contact with handicapped advocacy groups and encourage them to hold more activities to spread this viewpoint. But I still find many unexpected problems. For example, the famous author Liu Hsia, who also is on the board of the Eden Welfare Foundation for the Handicapped, doesn't dare to drink water for the whole morning of a day when she has been invited to lecture, and quickly leaves after delivering her speech. This is because she's afraid it will be troublesome for others if she has to use the bathroom. And before there were any lifts on domestic vehicles, her means of transportation was small truck; a friend would lift her and her wheelchair into the vehicle and then strap them in.

These things were a great shock to me. Many things we take for granted in everyday life are difficulties for the handicapped. And even someone asked me, who specializes in this field, only sees the up of the iceberg. So when we begin to get into details about assistance to the handicapped for medical care, education, or employment, if there is no corresponding obstacle-free environment, it's just blowing smoke. Because handicapped people face an obstacle as soon as they go out the door, and can't possibly reach their destination.

Maybe some people wonder, "Why should we spend so much money to change the environment for the minority of people who are handicapped?" In fact, there aren't only obstacles out there for the handicapped; they also exist for pregnant women, the elderly with multiple health problems, the temporarily injured... they all need help. Add to this that anyone might be hit at any time with a traffic accident, illness, or disaster. Thus an obstacle-free environment is by no means for the minority of people, but is "in reserve" for everyone.

A ramp into an obstacle course: The January 199O revisions to the Law on Welfare for the Disabled, prepared by the Ministry of the Interior, stipulated that new public facilities or buildings all must have obstacle-free access before getting a construction license. Existing structures have to be upgraded within five years.

What's sad is that although many new buildings have the facilities, they are poorly designed. Taking "Tomorrow's World" on Yuanshan in Taipei for example, a guide path for the blind was laid in on a ramp--so blind people and the wheelchair found will run right into each other! The ramp at the Chien-tan Activities Center has cracks that protrude up too much or dip inward; although they achieve the purpose of preventing someone from sliding off, they make it hard to get across, and there's even the chance a wheelchair will tip over. The Taian rest station has a ramp made of egg-shaped stones, which is even more dangerous.

Further, everyone is concerned about the problem of employment for the handicapped, but why doesn't anybody think that besides work they also need recreation? Does anyone believe that handicapped people virtually can't go anywhere? They can't even get into the neighborhood park. Perhaps designers haven't thought that making it impossible for vehicles to get in and for street vendors to get in also keeps the handicapped out.

Our goal is not only public architecture and infrastructure, but to have absolutely no obstacles--from the home to the neighborhood to the means of transportation to buildings should be tied up together in a string, with each of them easily passed without obstruction. The goal is to achieve an obstacle-free environment that is "reachable," "enterable," and "usable."

[Picture Caption]

With revolving gates at park entrances and turnstiles at movie theater box offices or at ticket booths in train and bus stations--no matter whether the purpose is to keep out itinerant vendors or to maintain order -- people in wheelchairs end up locked out.

As the concept of an obstacle-free environment receives greater attention, the disabled will be able to advance smoothly ahead in the future.

With revolving gates at park entrances and turnstiles at movie theater box offices or at ticket booths in train and bus stations--no matter whether the purpose is to keep out itinerant vendors or to maintain order -- people in wheelchairs end up locked out.

As the concept of an obstacle-free environment receives greater attention, the disabled will be able to advance smoothly ahead in the future.