SHENZHEN traffic police will initiate an action next month in cooperation with the Shenzhen Disabled Persons’ Federation to check vehicles that are illegally parked in parking spaces designated for disabled persons.

The parking spaces, 102 in total, are mainly designated at hospitals, parks and public institutions. They were often illegally occupied due to the shortage of parking places, poor management, operational negligence and lack of awareness on the part of drivers.

According to police, drivers who illegally occupy parking spaces or parking operators that fail to ban drivers from parking in spaces for the disabled will be fined 500 yuan (US$72.7).

For the 27th National Day for Helping the Disabled this year, which was yesterday, Shenzhen Disabled Persons’ Federation distributed brochures to residents with disabilities to guide them in commuting and taking flights and high-speed trains. Other activities such as singing contests and job fairs will also be held.

Shenzhen has a rule requiring enterprises, institutions and government agencies to arrange work for physically challenged people by the ratio of 0.5 percent to on-job employees. At present, around 7,000 physically challenged persons with Shenzhen hukou have been employed, mainly in manufacturing, retail, software development and animation. (Han Ximin)