China Tries Hard to Make Handicapped People's Life Smooth
( 2003-08-22 11:37) (People.com)
Sitting in front of a PC, Chen Bin's body writhes while his hands fumble with
the keyboard. Strings of words jump up on the screen. Chen, who suffers from the
aftermath of infantile paralysis, is competing in a contest for computer
programmers.
Handicapped children
from Hong Kong yesterday leave on a free tour to Zhuhai, Shenzhen and
Zhongshan in Guangdong Province, with the help of the Hong Kong Red Cross
and the Hong Kong Police Association.
[newsphoto.com.cn] | Almost 600 people, in 31
groups, are taking part in the second national professional skills competition
for handicapped people, also known as the Second Abilimpics China, which began
Aug. 9, in Shanghai and ends August 23 in Beijing. The participants will
showtheir skills in five categories and 22 items, ranging from computer
programming to handicraft making.
The organizer said the event is aimed at helping the handicapped become more
aware of their own abilities and potential,and helping the public learn more
about the capabilities and desire for work of the handicapped population.
Over the past few decades, China has made strenuous efforts to remove all
kinds of hurdles, both physical and psychological, for the handicapped.
In cities, more and more facilities have been built to assist the
handicapped, and even in remote areas local governments have tried hard to
relieve them of difficulties in their daily lives.
Since 1988, China has made notable achievements in tackling theissue of
employment for the handicapped population, which tops 60 million, accounting for
five percent of the country's 1.3 billion people. At the end of 2002, the
employment rate for the handicapped reached 82 percent, compared to less than 50
percent in 1988, according to Deng Pufang, chairman of the China Disabled
Persons' Federation.
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