A volunteer pushes a girl in a wheelchair during a special sports meet in Wuyishan city, Fujian province on May 17, the 25th National Day for Helping the Disabled. More than 100 volunteers and 50 disabled children participated in the event. [Photo/Xinhua]

A visually impaired resident in Beijing was boarding a bus with her guide dog when she was stopped by the conductor who said no dogs were allowed on board. With the help of other passengers, Zhou Lei finally persuaded the conductor to let her get on the bus, but during the journey the conductor kept saying that she shouldn't bring a dog on a bus. Beijing Times commented on Monday:

The bus conductor shouldn't be blamed because it hasn't been explicitly regulated that a guide dog is allowed on a bus in Beijing, and the space inside a bus is limited.

But not all cities treat guide dogs the same way. In East China's Jiangsu province, guide dogs are permitted on public transport.

To respect the guide dogs is to respect the rights of people who are blind or visually impaired.

In Beijing, there are roughly 50,000 blind people but only 20 guide dogs. The percentage is far below the international standard.

There are about 6 million blind people in China. Some people ask: If there are so many blind people in the country, why can't we see them? The answer is self-evident. When the blind are not allowed to take their guide dogs on public transport, how are they to go out? When discrimination against them still exists, when their legitimate rights are not protected, how can blind people feel included in society?

No wonder few blind people are spotted in the streets, especially as the blind tracks in the pavements are frequently obstructed and guide dogs are banned from public spaces.

More blind people should be freed from virtual hide-outs in their homes so they can participate in and make their contributions to society.