CGTN
29th June 2023
Meet China's first visually impaired broadcaster to attain a master's degree
Dong Lina, 39, the first visually impaired master of broadcasting in China, graduated on Wednesday.
A former masseuse, a career path many people with visual impairment take in China, Dong was born sighted to a family of farmers in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province. She was diagnosed with congenital amblyopia, the loss or lack of development of clear vision in one or both eyes, and went completely blind at the age of 10.
Like many visually impaired children, Dong finished compulsory education at a school for disabled people and later began learning tuina, a type of Chinese therapeutic massage, at a school for the blind. In 2003, she obtained a job as a masseuse.
Her life back then seemed like a preset route, but Dong was unwilling to accept the path set for her as the only option.
"Teachers always told me and my classmates to learn massage well, as it was 'the only way out' for us, but still, I was not content, and I wanted more options in my life," she recalled.
In 2006, Dong got the chance to learn broadcast recitation.