Since the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, there has been tremendous progress in the cause for people with disabilities in China, according to a white paper titled Equality, Participation and Sharing: 70 Years of Protecting the Rights and Interests of Persons With Disabilities in the PRC released by the State Council Information Office on July 25.

In the past seven decades, the PRC has taken into full consideration its realities and developed its own strategy for protecting the rights and interests of persons with disabilities. It has worked tirelessly to promote their rights, protect their dignity and ensure their equal participation in the nation's political, economic, and social and cultural life, the document said.

China now has about 85 million people with disabilities, according to the white paper, with the number of students in special education schools growing significantly over the years. In 2018, 666,000 students with disabilities were enrolled in these schools, an increase of 298,000, or 81 percent, over 2013. Non-compulsory education for people with disabilities has also made steady progress. In 2018, China had 133 secondary vocational schools or classes with an enrollment of 19,475 students with disabilities. From 2012 to 2018, a total of 62,200 students with disabilities were enrolled in regular institutions of higher education.

In addition, by April 2018, more than 80 laws and 50 administrative regulations had been passed concerning the protection of the rights and interests of people with disabilities, according to the document.

The China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF), an organization approved by the State Council, represents and safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of people with disabilities. By 2018, a total of 42,000 disabled persons' federations had been set up across the nation.

Led by the CDPF, associations for people with specific disabilities, such as visual or hearing impairments or other physical disabilities, have been established. By 2018, a total of 16,000 branches of the associations at provincial, prefectural and county levels were in place.

The white paper also showed that the programs for people with disabilities have received increasing financial support in the past decades.

Disabled persons' federations across the nation spent 57.36 billion yuan ($8.35 billion) on programs during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10), and the figure grew to 145.12 billion yuan ($21.1 billion) during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), an increase of 153 percent.

From 2013 to 2017, fiscal allocations from all levels of government for people with disabilities totaled over 180 billion yuan ($26.17 billion), up 123 percent over the prior five years.

Furthermore, in the past decade, the size and structure of employment for people with disabilities have remained stable and the number of the employed has risen by 300,000 each year. In 2018, another 367,000 people with certified disabilities were employed, according to the white paper.

China will continue to improve the mechanisms for ensuring the rights and interests of people with disabilities, the document said, eliminating discrimination, fully respecting and guaranteeing their human rights, improving their well-being, enhancing their ability to improve their situation and ensuring that they are able to participate in the country's development process and share the ensuing gains as equals.

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo

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