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UPDATED: September-5-2008  
Welfare Business for the Disabled
By YAO LISHI

A sample survey made in 1987 reveals that the number of the blind, deafmutes, crippled, mentally retarded and mental patients totalled 51,64 million, or 4.9 percent of China's population; and families with disabled people accounted for 18.1 percent of the national total. In order to bring happiness to the disabled. China has done much over the last ten years in forming special organizations for them, providing them with job opportunities and offering medical treatment, special education and social welfare.

Getting Them Organized

China organized welfare societies for the blind and deaf-mutes in the 1950s and later established the Association for the Deafmutes. In the mid-1980s, the China Welfare Fund for the Handicapped (CWFH) was established. With the approval of the State Council, the China Federation for the Handicapped (CFH),a national organization, was set up in March 1988 on the basis of CWFH, the China Association for the Blind and Deaf-mutes and some 5,000 similar organizations at the grass-roots level.

CFH is a semi-official national organization. It functions under one state councillor. In support of its work, leaders of 21 ministries and commissions under the State Council joined hands with the CFH heads in forming the Chinese Organizing. Committee for the Ten Years of the UN Disabled. At the local level, provincial leaders head groups in charge of the work for the disabled.

By the end of this year, CFH branches will be set up in all of China's 300-plus cities and prefectures. In addition, CFH branches will be set up in all of the counties in late 1990 or early next year.

In Beijing, all 18 urban districts and counties have completed the organization of the federations for the handicapped. Similar organizations have also been set up in more than 100 (or 52 percent) neighbourhood committees and 113 townships.

These special organizations are homes for the disabled. Over the past ten years, the associations have worked hard to improve the lives and welfare of disabled residents. For example, the Home for the Disabled under the Beijing Federation for the Handicapped has, since its inception in 1984, organized a dozen political and cultural courses for the disabled, including college-level law studies, a micro-computer programme at the secondary school level and Chinese and English typewriting on micro-computers. In addition, it often organizes chess and photo competitions as well as ball games to enrich their lives.

"Equality and Participation"

In order to enable the disabled to participate in social life on an equal footing with others, society has been mobilized to create necessary intellectual and material conditions. For the same purpose, governments at various levels educate people to understand, respect, care for and help these disadvantaged people. Activities have been held for two years running in various provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions focusing on the content "The disabled serve the society and I serve the disabled." Education in socialist morality and humanitarianism has been given to some 10 million primary school children for five years.

In the capital city of Beijing, several hundred thousand people take to the streets to serve the disabled on the third Sunday each May. In Shanghai and Xinjiang, "Humanitarianism in My Heart" and "The Disabled and Society" publicity weeks have been held for four years running. The Central People's Broadcasting Station and various local broadcasting stations have started special programmes for the disabled, and Beijing Radio Station, the Beijing Civil Administration Bureau and some other units jointly sponsor a News Week sign language programme on TV, which is welcomed by deaf-mutes.

Thanks to help from society, the disabled find it not difficult to locate jobs. Welfare factories offer one form of employment. This kind of factory creates dozens of billion yuan worth of output value a year. Some 600 hospitals have employed 7,000 blind massagers, who are distinguished in curing more than 100 difficult cases. In addition, there are also performing troupes composed of 3,700 disabled artists. In 1989,they gave more than 370 performances before audiences totalling several hundred thousand people.

Disabled people have since 1983 been organized to participate in the Olympic games for the handicapped people and the special Olympic games for the mentally retarded people. Deafmutes also have attended important international competitions. Altogether, they won 436 medals including 242 gold medals. In September 1989, China dispatched 56 handicapped athletes to attend the Fifth Asian and South Pacific Regional Sports Meet for the Disabled. These athletes returned with 99 gold medals and broke 16 world records, ranking first in the world.

Legislation

New China has formulated a series of laws, regulations and policies geared to protect the legal rights and interests of the disabled and encourage work in favour of them. China's Constitution, Criminal Law, Law Governing Criminal Procedures, General Principles of Civil Law, Law Governing Civil Procedures, Marriage Law and Law on Compulsory Education all include clauses related to the disabled. In 1988 the State Council approved the implementation of the Five-Year Working Programme for China's Disabled People, Opinions on the Development of Special Education and the Scheme for Three Items of Work Concerning Convalescence of the Disabled as well as the Regulations Concerning the Labour and Employment of the Disabled and the Regulations Concerning Education for the Disabled. These important laws specify in explicit terms the purposes, targets, principles and policies of China's work on behalf of the disabled.

Most of China's provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have laid down administrative rules for protecting the legal rights and interests of the disabled. With the approval of their local people's congress or governments, Beijing, Heilongjiang, Urumqi, Changchun and Wuxi have issued regulations geared towards protecting the disabled. Baotou, Xiangtan, Sanming, Ximao and Haicheng have also issued administrative regulations offering preferential treatment to the disabled. Shanxi, Zhejiang, Tianjin, Hainan, Fujian and Qingdao have also instituted similar policies.

These have paved the way for the formulation of New China's first law for protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the disabled. After 18 revisions over a six-year period since 1985,China has drafted the Law on the Protection of the Disabled. Recently, a State Council's meeting gave approval to it in principle. It is expected that the new law will lay a more solid foundation for the development of welfare services for the disabled.

Employment

As a developing country, China has blazed a new trail in providing care and love for the disabled. Welfare factories were set up early in the 1950s. By the end of 1989, the number of such factories shot up to some 40,000 employing 1.63 million people, including 710,000 disabled people. These factories cover scores of trades and produce about 10,000 kinds of products such as machinery, electronics, chemicals, building materials, textiles, arts and crafts, and sundry goods for daily use. Some 1,500 of their products are for export.

The employment rate for the disabled with working ability now reaches more than 70 percent in counties and towns and 90 percent in big cities. Employment is not a problem for such cities as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Dalian, Shijiazhuang, Changzhou and Jiamusi.

Providing jobs for the disabled has not only turned them into people who can live on their own but contributes much to society in economic terms. Besides paying taxes to the state, the welfare factories donate money to welfare societies for children, Homes for the Aged and other welfare organizations. They have also donated money for the construction of wrestling and boxing courts for the 11th Asian Games.

In view of the fact that the illiteracy rate of the disabled stands at 68 percent and the schooling rate of the blind, deaf and mentally retarded children is below 60 percent, the State Council has promulgated the Opinions on the Development of Special Education, which specifies principles and policies for special education. At present, there are 672 schools especially for disabled children in China. There are also 1,885 special classes attached to ordinary schools. This makes it possible for 78,000 disabled children to attend school. In addition, the welfare societies in various localities are providing special education for 10,000 handicapped children.Since its commencement in June 1983, the China Convalescence Research Centre for Deaf Children has trained 200 deaf-mutes and one-fourth of them have now recovered hearing and speaking capabilities and are attending normal primary schools or kindergartens.

The China Convalescence Research Centre is still being built with a donation of US$1.07 million from former British Prime Minister Edward Heath. Upon its completion next summer, the centre will be able to treat and train some 20,000 deaf children each year.

Statistics show that China has 4.9 million people suffering from cataracts, 1.24 million people who became disabled because of infantile paralysis and 1.71 million deaf children below the age of 14. According to the Scheme for Three Items of Work Concerning Convalescence of the Disabled promulgated in 1988,China will, in five years, provide operations for 500,000 people suffering from cataracts and for 300,000 children suffering from infantile paralysis, as well as give special training to 30,000 deaf children.

In recent years, various special training and convalescence organs have been set up with non-governmental funds. All these open a broad avenue for the development of welfare services for the disabled in the country.

(Beijing Review p.11 No. 51, 1990)


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