Guide dogs for the blind will be allowed into public places such as subway stations and buses starting July, under a new law amendment passed Thursday.

Lawmakers said the change, in the amendment to the Law on the Protection of Disabled Persons, aims to better protect the rights and interests of the blind in the run-up to the Beijing 2008 Paralympics in September, during which many athletes will bring their canine helpers to the capital.

Currently, ownership of large dogs in Beijing is restricted and large dogs are barred from public places. Since guide dogs are said to be a new phenomenon in the country, no exceptions were made.

This has caused inconvenience to a number of blind people. Ping Yali, the country's first Paralympic champion, complained to the media last year that her guide dog "Lucky", a golden retriever, was always barred from public places.

Explaining the law amendment to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), Minister of Civil Affairs Li Xueju said it was necessary to make a change to allow the guide dogs into public places as many other countries do.

"In bidding for the hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games, our country has also made a commitment to foreign athletes for them to bring guide dogs to China," he said.

However, although the law amendment grants the blind the right to take guide dogs to public places, detailed rules are needed to facilitate its implementation, Ma Yu'e, deputy director of the legal department of the China Disabled Persons' Federation, said.

Ma said that the federation is now working with public security departments in Beijing and "it's very likely that a detailed rule on guide dogs will be made before the Paralympics".

Ma said such a change marks great progress in safeguarding the rights and interests of the blind.

"The misunderstanding that guide dogs are pets must be corrected," she said. "They are working dogs just as police dogs are. And guide dogs are intelligent and friendly. They won't cause any safety issues."

Official figures show about 12.3 million people in the country suffer from visual impairments and there is an increasing demand for guide dogs.

Apart from the rule that allows guide dogs into public places, the law amendment also takes a closer look at the rights and interests of the disabled in regards to education, employment and medical care. It also stipulates that disabled people who run private businesses can enjoy favorable tax policies and be exempted from administrative charges.

Similarly, the amendment has a special chapter on promoting a barrier-free environment for the disabled.

Sun Shujun, a disabled NPC deputy from Liaoning province who was invited to the NPC Standing Committee session yesterday, said: "Not only should the environment be barrier-free. People's mindsets and attitudes towards us disabled people should be barrier-free as well ... Equal and fair treatment is what we want most."

(China Daily April 25, 2008)