· Document Number：Order No.622 of the State Council

· Area of Law： Civil Law

· Level of Authority： Administrative Regulations

· Date issued：06-28-2012

· Effective Date：08-01-2012

· Issuing Authority： State Council

· Status： Effective

Order of the State Council
(No. 622)
The Regulation on the Construction of Barrier-Free Environments, as adopted at the 208th session of the executive meeting of the State Council on June 13, 2012, is hereby issued and shall come into force on August 1, 2012.
Premier: Wen Jiabao
June 28, 2012
Regulation on the Construction of Barrier-Free Environments
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Regulation is formulated for purposes of creating barrier-free environments and ensuring that disabled persons and other members of society can equally participate in social life.
Article 2 The term “construction of barrier-free environments” as mentioned in this Regulation refers to the construction activity of providing accommodations for disabled persons and other members of society to independently and safely use roads, enter and exit relevant buildings, use public means of transportation, exchange information, and obtain community services.
Article 3 The construction of barrier-free environments shall adapt to the level of economic and social development and follow the principles of being pragmatic, feasible, and providing wide-ranging benefits.
Article 4 People's governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for organizing the drafting of development plans for the construction of barrier-free environments as well as the implementation thereof.
In the drafting of development plans for the construction of barrier-free environments, the opinions of organizations for disabled persons and other social organizations shall be solicited.
Development plans for the construction of barrier-free environments shall be incorporated into national economic and social development planning as well as urban and rural planning.
Article 5 The competent department of housing and urban-rural development of the State Council shall be responsible for the supervision and administration over the construction projects for barrier-free facilities throughout the nation, formulating construction engineering standards for barrier-free facilities in conjunction with the relevant departments of the State Council, and supervising and inspecting the circumstances regarding such projects.
The competent department of industry and information technology of the State Council and other relevant departments shall, within their respective scope of functions, effectively engage in the construction of barrier-free environments.
Article 6 The state shall encourage and support the use of technologies and products that adopt universal barrier-free designs, and promote the development, application and popularization of barrier-free technologies and products designated for disabled persons.
Article 7 The state shall advocate for the concept of construction of barrier-free environments, and encourage citizens, legal persons, and other organizations to provide donations and volunteer services for the construction of barrier-free environments.
Article 8 Entities and individuals with notable achievements in the construction of barrier-free environments shall be commended and rewarded according to the relevant provisions of the state.
Chapter II Construction of Barrier-Free Facilities
Article 9 Urban roads, public buildings, public transportation facilities, residential buildings, and residential communities that are newly built, renovated or expanded shall comply with the construction engineering standards for barrier-free facilities.
Construction and development in villages shall progressively satisfy the construction engineering standards for barrier-free facilities.
Article 10 All barrier-free facilities shall implement design, construction, check for acceptance, and entry into service that is simultaneous with the principal project. New barrier-free facilities shall be linked to the surrounding barrier-free facilities.
Article 11 For urban roads, public buildings, public transportation facilities, residential buildings, and residential communities that have been built but fail to satisfy the construction engineering standards for barrier-free facilities, the people's governments at or above the county level shall formulate and implement retrofitting plans for such barrier-free facilities.
The owner or administrator of barrier-free facilities shall be responsible for retrofitting.
Article 12 People's governments at or above the county level shall give priority to promoting the retrofitting of barrier-free facilities in the following institutions or places:
(1) special education, rehabilitation, and social welfare institutions;
(2) public service places of state organs;
(3) public service places of cultural, athletic, and medical health entities; or
(4) the public service places regarding transportation, finance, postal service, commerce, or tourism.
Article 13 Pedestrian bridges and tunnels at key roads, major business districts, and large residential communities in cities shall be equipped with barrier-free facilities according to the construction engineering standards for barrier-free facilities, and the functions of barrier-free services shall be progressively improved for sidewalk traffic signals, adapting to the requirements for use by disabled persons and other members of society.
Article 14 Public parking lots in large- and medium-sized public places and the parking lots in large residential communities in cities shall set up and mark barrier-free parking spaces according to the construction engineering standards for barrier-free facilities.
A barrier-free parking space shall be reserved for motor vehicles driven or otherwise used by persons with physical disabilities.
Article 15 Public means of transportation such as civil aircraft, passenger trains, passenger ships, buses, and urban rail vehicles shall progressive satisfy the requirements for barrier-free facilities. Relevant competent departments shall formulate standards for barrier-free technologies regarding public means of transportation and specify time limits for compliance.
Article 16 Where a person with a visual disability uses a guide dog to enter or exit a public place, the person shall comply with the relevant provisions of the state and the personnel of the public place shall provide barrier-free services in accordance with the relevant provisions of the state.
Article 17 The owner and administrator of barrier-free facilities shall protect the barrier-free facilities, repair the damages or malfunctions, if any, in a timely manner, and ensure the proper operation of such barrier-free facilities.
Chapter III Barrier-Free Information Exchange
Article 18 People's governments at or above the county level shall include the building of barrier-free information exchange into information-based construction plans and adopt measures to promote the construction of barrier-free information exchange.
Article 19 When issuing important government information and information relevant to disabled persons, the people's governments at or above the county level and the relevant departments shall create conditions to provide disabled persons with voice and text prompts and other such information exchange services.
Article 20 Where a person with a visual disability participates in a school entrance examination, occupational qualification examination, or appointment examination that is administered by the state, such person shall be provided with a test paper in Braille or an electronic format, or the working personnel onsite shall offer assistance.
Article 21 Television stations established by the people's governments at or above the level of a city divided into districts shall create conditions for the inclusion of subtitles in television programs that are broadcast and, a minimum of once a week, broadcast news programs with sign language.
Film and television video recordings that are publicly released shall have subtitles.
Article 22 Public libraries established by the people's governments at or above the level of a city divided into districts shall open reading rooms for persons with visual disabilities and provide Braille reading materials and audiobooks. Other libraries shall progressively open reading rooms for persons with visual disabilities.
Article 23 The websites of organizations for disabled persons shall satisfy design standards for barrier-free websites. The websites of the people's governments at or above the level of a city divided into districts and government public interest websites shall progressively satisfy design standards for barrier-free websites.
Article 24 Public service institutions and public places shall create conditions to provide information exchange services such as voice or text prompts, sign language, and Braille services to disabled persons, and offer skills training for barrier-free services to the working personnel.
Article 25 When hosting public activities with the participation of large numbers of persons with hearing disabilities, the host entity shall provide subtitles or sign language services.
Article 26 When providing telecommunications services, operators shall create conditions to provide text information services for persons with hearing or speaking disabilities, and voice information services for persons with visual disabilities.
The manufacturers of telecommunications terminals shall provide technologies and products that are linked with barrier-free information exchange services.
Chapter IV Barrier-Free Community Services
Article 27 The public service facilities in communities shall progressively improve the functions of barrier-free services and provide accommodations for disabled persons and other member of society to participate in social life.
Article 28 Local people's governments at all levels shall progressively improve their emergency call systems for, e.g., police reports and emergency medical aid, and facilitate reports to the police or calls for assistance by disabled persons and other members of society.
Article 29 Local people's governments at or above the county level may provide appropriate subsidies to underprivileged families that require the retrofitting of barrier-free facilities.
Article 30 Departments that organize elections shall provide accommodations for disabled persons to participate in elections and provide Braille ballots for persons with visual disabilities.
Chapter V Legal Liability
Article 31 Where urban roads, public buildings, public transportation facilities, residential buildings, and residential communities that are newly built, renovated, or expanded do not meet the construction engineering standards for barrier-free facilities, the competent housing and urban-rural development department shall order corrections and, in accordance with law, impose punishment.
Article 32 Where motor vehicles other than those driven or otherwise used by persons with physical disabilities occupy barrier-free parking spaces and affect the use of such parking spaces by persons with physical disabilities, the traffic administrative department of the public security organ shall order corrections and, in accordance with law, impose punishment.
Article 33 Where the owner or administrator of barrier-free facilities fails to protect or repair barrier-free facilities in a timely manner, making their normal use impossible, the relevant competent departments shall order the owner or administrator to repair such facilities within a prescribed time limit; where any users are injured or their property damaged, the owner or administrator of the barrier-free facility shall assume liability for compensation.
Article 34 Where the personnel of the competent departments for the construction of barrier-free environments abuse powers, neglect duties, or practices favoritism for personal benefits, such personnel shall be punished according to law; and where a crime is constituted, the personnel shall be subject to criminal liability according to law.
Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions
Article 35 This Regulation shall come into force on August 1, 2012.