Deng Pufang, president of the China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF), has been awarded the 2003 United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights, which is definitely an honor for Deng personally, but it is also a tribute to China's efforts to help the handicapped as a whole.

 

Moreover, it should be regarded as a historic breakthrough for China in the field of human rights .

 

China's achievements in helping its disabled population and other vulnerable groups prove that China, the world's largest developing country, is capable of making progress in the field of human rights in line with the country's real situation.

 

Since China launched its reform and opening drive in 1978, the government has taken the rational option of dealing with the issue its human rights, with the focus on the protection of the rights of needy groups, as they find it more difficult than others to make a living.

 

Over the past 25 years, the government has amassed enormous funds to launch a series of major programs to assist vulnerable groups, including the poverty-eradication program in remote areas, paying for the education of children from poor families, helping the disabled with professional training and medical rehabilitation, and protecting the rights of rural laborers working in cities.

 

Deng and his CDPF have made spectacular strides, with over 8 million disabled people rehabilitated, 74 percent of disabled children studying in schools, millions of similar people trained with working skills, and 84 percent of persons with disabilities employed.

 

Commenting on Deng's prize-winning success story, a Foreign Ministry spokesman put it simply: "Deng deserves it." Deng has not only brought back a big honor for China in the field of human rights, but has highlighted the great effort made by the government to help these vulnerable groups.

 

(People's Daily December 12, 2003)