Protecting the Rights and Interests of Persons with Disabilities in the PRC

Editor's Note: The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China published a white paper titled Equality, Participation and Sharing: 70 Years of Protecting the Rights and Interests of Persons with Disabilities in the PRC. Following is the full text:

Contents

Preamble

I.Development of the Cause of Persons with Disabilities

II.Mechanisms for the Protection of Rights and Interests of Persons with Disabilities

III.Health and Rehabilitation

IV.Special Education and Inclusive Education

V.Employment and Entrepreneurship VI.Basic Life and Social Security

VII.Creating an Accessible Environment and Enabling Mobility

VIII.Personal Freedom and Non-Discrimination

IX.Creating a Good Social Environment

X.International Exchanges and Cooperation

Conclusion

Preamble

Persons with disabilities are equal members of the human family. It is a bounden duty of the state and an essential requirement of socialism with Chinese characteristics to respect and protect their human rights and dignity, and to offer them equal opportunities to participate in social life and enjoy the fruits of the country's material and cultural progress on an equal footing.

China now has a population of 85 million persons with disabilities. Over the 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, and especially in the process of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government have always put the people first and provided care for the group with special difficulties. China respects the wishes of those with disabilities, protects their rights, attaches importance to their participation in social life, grants them real civil rights, and makes them participants in, contributors to, and beneficiaries of our social and economic development.

Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, China has included the cause of persons with disabilities in the agenda for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. It maintains that in promoting the interests of persons with disabilities the government should play the leading role, while soliciting the participation of the whole of society and giving full play to the functions of the market, and that the government should keep improving the wellbeing of those with disabilities and also encourage their self-improvement and self-reliance. By incorporating the programs of persons with disabilities in the national social and economic plan and human rights action plan, China has improved the institutions for protecting their rights and interests. It has also improved their social security and upgraded public services for them, so that they are feeling happier, safer, and more satisfied. China's achievements in championing this cause have won recognition throughout the world.