Chinese Vice-Premier Hui
Liangyu called for the respect and protection of the rights of
the handicapped and substantial efforts to resolve their
difficulties.
Hui, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of
China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks while presiding
over a plenary conference of the State Council Coordination
Committee for the Work of the Disabled People. Hui is also director
of the State Council committee.
China made remarkable achievements in helping the handicapped in
2004, Hui said. At the Athens Olympics for the Handicapped, the
Chinese delegation ranked first, both in the number of gold medals
and total medals.
However, Hui acknowledged that the handicapped people in China
continue to face many difficulties in their work and life, and he
urged the entire society to help them.
At the meeting, the participants discussed and developed plans
on handicapped issues and heard a report on the second national
survey on the handicapped.
China is preparing to host the 2008 Olympics of the Handicapped
in Beijing and the 2007 Special Olympics in Shanghai.
According to Deng Pufang, chairman of the China Disabled
Persons' Federation, who also addressed the conference, China has
more than 60 million handicapped people, accounting for about 5
percent of the country's total population of 1.3 billion.
Currently, more than 4 million handicapped people live in cities
and more than 16.2 million handicapped villagers have found a
job.
(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2005)