Teams to inspect provincial-level compliance with accessibility law

China's top legislature has launched a sweeping campaign targeting poor compliance with the country's accessibility law that was enacted three years ago.

The move was announced at a meeting on Friday in Beijing, where the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress said it will dispatch inspection teams to six provincial-level jurisdictions — Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Hunan and Gansu provinces — between June and July.

The Standing Committee of the NPC has also tasked the local legislatures of eight other jurisdictions — Shanxi, Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, Anhui, Shandong, Hubei and Sichuan provinces, as well as the Ningxia Hui autonomous region — with reviewing local compliance.

Some 323 million people in China are aged 60 or older as of last year, while the country has roughly 85 million people with disabilities, according to official statistics.

According to Xinhua News Agency, during the meeting Wang Dongming, vice-chairman of the NPC's Standing Committee, emphasized that enforcing accessibility laws is vital to protecting human rights, improving public welfare and addressing the challenges of an aging population.

China enacted its first dedicated law on barrier-free environments in 2023.

The legislation, which took effect in September of that year, aims to guarantee equal, full and convenient access to social life for people with disabilities, older adults and other members of society.

Despite stricter accessibility requirements for new infrastructure following the law's rollout, experts warn that review and assessment efforts have lagged, resulting in designs that fail to meet the actual needs of people with disabilities.

According to a readout of the meeting released by Xinhua, the inspection teams will focus on five areas: whether accessible infrastructure meets standards and functions as an integrated system; whether digital information and telecommunications services are accessible; whether social services are widely available to those who need them; whether oversight and enforcement mechanisms are in place; and whether the public is aware of the law.

Teams will use a range of methods, including hearing official briefings, holding panel discussions, conducting on-site inspections and carrying out random surveys.

The aim is to gain a comprehensive understanding of how the law is being implemented and where problems remain, with a focus on recurring issues reported at the grassroots level.

Lyu Shiming, a member of the Standing Committee of the NPC and president of the China Association of Volunteers for Persons with Disabilities, likened building facilities without proper assessment to a student submitting an exam paper that is never graded.

"When investment has already been made, barrier-free facilities ought to be up to standard from the start," Lyu said in a recent interview with China Daily.

He stressed that standards alone are not enough. Rigorous reviews and assessments at every stage, from design to completion, distinguish truly usable infrastructure from costly failures.

"Otherwise, nonstandard, substandard and ultimately impractical facilities will end up being demolished and rebuilt, causing secondary waste and leaving a burden of hidden dangers for future generations," he said.

Lyu has proposed a "closed-loop management" system that would incorporate accessibility compliance into the social credit system, require a dedicated planning chapter for new projects and mandate expert design reviews.

He has also proposed creating a professional category of "accessibility consulting managers" to strengthen technical expertise.