A senior official has hailed China's efforts to give disabled
people a better quality of life.
More than 11 million Chinese people with physical disabilities
have been rehabilitated to some extent and 80 percent of disabled
children have started school, said Jia
Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese
People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC),
at Wednesday's meeting in Beijing to elect the new board of
directors of the China Welfare Foundation for the Disabled.
The employment rate of the disabled population is on the rise
and the environment for the disabled to participate in public life
has constantly been improving, he added.
Jia urged governments of all levels to show their support and
concern for the disabled, by taking them into consideration in
their plans for economic development and social progress during the
11th Five-year Guidelines period (2006-2010).
The foundation was established in 1984, and over the past 22
years, it has raised a total of 3.34 billion yuan (about US$420
billion).
Also present at Wednesday's meeting were senior officials
including Hui
Liangyu, Ismail Amat, He Luli, Liu Yandong, Bai Lichen, and Luo
Haocai, as well as Bu He, Wu Jieping, and Peng Peiyun.
(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2006)