Taiwan President vows to make country more accessible

From CNA:

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- President Ma Ying-jeou (pictured) vowed Oct. 29 to help a 12-year-old wheelchair-bound girl make her dream come true by improving the country's barrier-free facilities.

Ma said he instructed Transportation Minister Mao Chi-kuo to improve railway facilities first so that disabled persons could lead more convenient lives.

Chen Wan-ping (pictured), who suffers from Nemaline Myopathy, a group of disorders that cause problems with the tone and contraction of skeletal muscles, expressed her aspiration in a letter to Ma written on July 30 before she received the 2010 Presidential Education Award.

"My biggest dream is that barrier-free facilities can be available everywhere in Taiwan, " Chen wrote in the letter, which she was not allowed to present to the president at the award ceremony but which later reached Ma.

Speaking at an anniversary celebration of a Taipei elementary school, Ma said he was deeply moved by her passion for life and "I made my promise and she has my word now."