The Fourth National Congress of the China Disabled Persons' Federation concluded Tuesday, leaving thousands of participants feeling "greatly encouraged" about building a brighter future through their own efforts with considerable support from society.

Wang Shuming, an engineer from Changchun, capital of Northeast China's Jilin Province, said the congress has enhanced his belief that disabled persons can enjoy the same quality of life as their able-bodied counterparts. Wang lost all feeling from the waist-down in an accident in 1982, when he was only 29.

Senior Chinese leaders, including Vice-Premier Huang Ju, and Deng Pufang, chairman of the federation, pledged greater efforts from the congress to help disabled people participate equally in society.

But hard work on the part of disabled workers is also important. The success of Wang is a case in point here. He was granted permission to return to work soon after leaving hospital by proving himself able to complete work assignments as well as, if not better than, his colleagues.

Even though he has to wear a special brace to sit up, he has not only managed to live independently but has also created several inventions worth more than 3 million yuan (US$362,000).

However, Wang said he could never have achieved all of this without the support of society. In return, he has worked for free repairing over 70,000 telephones and 4,000-odd electrical appliances over the past two decades, which are estimated to be worth over 1 million yuan (US$120,772) in total.

"My being able to help others proves the value of my existence," he said.

In fact, there are a number of disabled people in China who have proven to society they are equally able to generate significant personal wealth as others without disabilities, said Guo Jianmo, chairman of the board of directors of the federation.

Although there are still things to improve to ensure equal opportunities for disabled people in various social activities, Guo said that Chinese society has created an increasingly more supportive environment for disabled people.

For example, the number of volunteers officially registered to help disabled people amounts to over 1.7 million in the country.

(China Daily Sep 11, 2003)