New church buildings must consider Universal Design, says Christian policy advisor

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

3074 Edition
January 24-30, 2011

Headline News



New church buildings must consider Universal Design, says Christian policy 
advisor

Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong

Written by Lydia Ma



What would houses where the elderly and the toddler can both walk safely 
and live comfortably look like? Would their stairs be able to turn into 
ramps? These were ideas explored in the recent 5th Annual Universal Design 
Contest where the theme of the year was “Residential Life”. The contest 
featured more than 811 residential products – all emphasizing their safety 
and user-friendliness regardless of our age.



Living in a safe and cozy home is a common desire, said Free Universe 
Education Foundation CEO Tang Feng-cheng during the award ceremony on 
January 13, 2011. This desire has in recent years become an important issue 
with the growth of aging population in Taiwan because residences that are 
accessible, or adopt Universal Design guidelines, save many people from 
accidents and reduce renovation costs down the road, save future 
governments from medical costs caused by injuries, and create new job 
opportunities for many people.



Tang urged Christians to set an example for the rest of society by living 
out what they believe – equality and justice for all people – starting with 
promoting Universal Design in their church buildings. As a member of Bread 
of Life Christian Church in Shilin, Taipei, Tang said many new church 
buildings have been built in recent years, but a majority of them are not 
completely accessible to disabled people.



“Does your church building have a bathroom designed for disabled people? 
Can people on wheelchairs make 180 degree turns or backup when they are 
inside?” he asks, sighing at the sight of churches that claim God created 
every human equal in value, but not living out such a claim in their 
building structures. 



Despite efforts in recent years, Universal Design has yet to become 
prevalent in Taiwanese society. That is the reason why Tang urges more 
efforts be made in educating the general public about the needs of people 
with disabilities. 



On the bright side, the Legislative Yuan passed a legislation on January 
10, 2011, pertaining to rights and benefits for people with disabilities. 
Article 52 of this legislation addresses the need of implementing Universal 
Design and urges managers of organizations to refer to international 
standards for examples. 



However, unless there is more public awareness on the challenges people 
with disabilities face on a daily basis, Tang said he worries the new 
policy might just as well be a pie in the sky.



********************

Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local languages. 

You may translate and re-use our articles online only if you acknowledge 
the source as "Taiwan Church News" and list the names of the reporter and 
writer. Contact us before reprinting any of our articles for print 
publications. 

Direct comments and questions about this article to: enews@pctpress.org

Visit our website for more news at: http://enews.pctpress.org/ (English) or 
http://www.pctpress.org (Chinese) 

********************