China

Gadget activated by designated Octopus cards on trial in North Point With a single tap of a card, elderly pedestrians and those with disabilities can now get a few extra seconds to make their way across Hong Kong’s busy roads. The Transport Department on Thursday rolled out a new smart device at a pedestrian crossing … Read more

When Meicy Choi took her four-month-old Labrador retriever named Don Don out on a sunny Saturday in December, she did not expect to get into a row over going to the park with her canine buddy. Don Don is not an ordinary dog. He is training to become one of fewer than 50 guide dogs … Read more

The Immigration Department announced today (December 21) that with effect from December 22, an e-Channel equipped with voice navigation function will be operational at both the arrival hall and departure hall of the China Ferry Terminal Control Point (CFTCP), with a view to enabling visually impaired persons to perform self-service immigration clearance. They will be … Read more

GUANGZHOU, China — China Southern Airlines launched a website for visually impaired users Tuesday. Users who intend to buy air tickets online can visit iaw.csair.com and click on a bar at the top to open the function, said Li Chunhong, a manager for the airline’s e-commerce unit. The site’s colors can be simplified, text can … Read more

China has the highest number of blind people in the world – accounting for 17 percent of the total. A community cinema in Beijing is allowing the vision-impaired to enjoy films on the big screen. Every Saturday morning members of Beijing’s blind community make their way from all over the city to the old Drum … Read more

A group of visually impaired runners on Thursday set off from Taipei on the first leg of a 500km relay that is to end in Kaohsiung. Tethered to sighted runners, the visually impaired athletes ran 10km on the first leg of the relay, from Taipei’s Zhongshan District to New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District. The run … Read more

Like Beethoven, who wrote some of his best compositions after becoming deaf, a young blind man has become a top programmer in China after learning how to code by ear. Cai Yongbin, who lost his sight at the age of six due to an accident, had to memorise tens of thousands of coding combinations after … Read more

Mar 27, 2017 Worldwide ride-hailing company Uber is launching “Uber-Assist” in Macau today, a new function of its well-known mobile app. Designed to provide additional assistance to seniors and people with disabilities, Uber-Assist pairs passengers with “specialized” driver-partners. According to Uber Macau general manager Trasy Lou Walsh, these drivers have received special intensive training in … Read more

Mar 31, 2017 More should be done to enhance sidewalk accessibility, disability rights advocates said yesterday at a hearing at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. “There are more than 16 government agencies that are free to ‘rape’ or trample over sidewalks, but we cannot find a unified government agency responsible for approving things,” Access for … Read more

If you live in Hong Kong, or you’re visiting Hong Kong, here’s a smartphone app you might like to download. Jess Shek writes: Dining out could sometimes be daunting for the visually impaired. Oftentimes they have to rely on their friends or restaurant staff to read the menu to them aloud. Yet, it would seem … Read more