Remarks on Disability Ratio Draw Attention; Ministry of Health and Welfare Pledges to Actively Incorporate Professional Opinions

During a review meeting for the amendment of the "People with Disabilities Rights Protection Act" in January this year, Chou Dao-chun, Director-General of the Social and Family Affairs Administration under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, responded to calls for expanding the proportion of disabled representatives in the "People with Disabilities Rights Protection Promotion Task Force" by stating that "if the proportion of people with disabilities is increased... it might affect the functionality of meeting dialogues." These remarks drew significant attention from the disability community. The Taiwan Independent Living Alliance for People with Disabilities today issued a press release stating that to resolve the misunderstanding, Director-General Chou Dao-chun of the Social and Family Affairs Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, specially invited Ya-Ya, a person with intellectual disabilities, as well as the Taiwan Independent Living Alliance for People with Disabilities, Taipei New Vitality Independent Living Association, Taiwan Youth with Disabilities Association, and Taiwan Association for the Promotion of Rights of Persons with Disabilities, for a face-to-face exchange on April 7th. At the beginning of the meeting, Ya-Ya was visibly emotional and shed tears before expressing her opinions. She recalled how in her past schooling and social interactions, she was often labeled as "unable to understand" due to different ways of expression, leading to long-term feelings of exclusion. However, Ya-Ya emphasized with her own experience as a reviewer for easy-to-read manuals: "As long as time is given, easy-to-read documents are provided in advance, and appropriate support systems are in place, people with intellectual disabilities can participate in meetings with everyone, without needing others to speak for them." Duan Ke-wei, a social worker from the Taipei New Vitality Independent Living Association, shared from the perspective of a person with cerebral palsy that society often mistakenly equates "speech impairment" with "lack of ability." She also demonstrated on-site the possibilities of communicating through text, images, and AI tools, asking, "How can my suitable communication methods be matched with how others receive information?" Lin Jun-jie, Secretary-General of the Independent Living Alliance, expressed expectations that the Ministry of Health and Welfare would incorporate the spirit and indicators of the "Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities" into this amendment process, allowing people with disabilities to enjoy an equal environment whether in life or participating in society. The Independent Living Alliance pointed out that Director-General Chou Dao-chun personally apologized again to Ya-Ya and the disability groups during the meeting, admitting that administrative agencies have been insufficient in public education in the past. He also promised to continue promoting "easy-to-read" initiatives, and in the future, will continue to consult professional opinions from disabled individuals and groups to improve the accessibility of public information and enhance public awareness, teaching the public how to interact with friends with different types of disabilities. Director-General Chou told the Central News Agency that he highly respects the ideas of people with disabilities and disability groups, and will adopt relevant opinions. The different needs mentioned by various disability types were also recorded in the meeting as considerations for future policy planning.