China's State Council, or the cabinet, Wednesday adopted a draft
regulation to promote employment of the disabled people.
Government departments at all levels are required to provide
more training opportunities to the disabled and help them find
jobs, according to the regulation, passed at an executive meeting
of the State Council.
The regulation also requires government departments to create
more job opportunities to the disabled and better protect their
legal rights.
It says that all provinces and regions should include the
employment of disabled people into their regional economic and
social development plans and work out favorable and protective
policies.
Official figure shows that by April 1, 2006, China has nearly
82.96 million disabled people, accounting for 6.34 percent of the
country's 1.3 billion population.
The regulation also encourages non-government organizations and
individuals to offer assistance to the handicapped.
The meeting also passed another two regulations, one on the
setup of local governments and the other on the national fund for
natural sciences. The three regulations will take effect after
being issued by the State Council soon.
The meeting was chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao.
(Xinhua News Agency February 15, 2007)