Epaper.chinadaily
17th May 2021
More empathy required to improve lives of disabled
Sunday marks the 31st National Day for the Disabled in China. This year's theme is "Improving the life quality of disabled people, and consolidating the poverty-alleviation efforts for them", which calls for helping those with disabilities raise their incomes and solving their problems in daily life.
According to China Disabled Persons' Federation, the total number of people living with disabilities in China has exceeded 85 million, or about one 1/16th of the total population. They are equal members of society, yet many of them lead rather difficult lives and face more difficulties than others.
By the end of 2020, the 7 million registered impoverished disabled residents had been lifted out of poverty on schedule, which represents huge progress in China's protection of disabled people's rights. However, as the State Council Information Office said in a 2019 white paper, the disabled population still lags behind the rest of society, and there is still much to do to eliminate discrimination against them and better protect their equal rights.
http://epaper.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202105/17/WS60a1a635a31099a234356225.html