New vision for university education?

The blind and visually impaired will be allowed to take China's university entrance exam for the first time this year, but some critics say the move is little more than window dressing, as Yang Yao reports.

As a boy, Li Jinsheng dreamed of becoming a lawyer. However, his family was poor, so he left school at age 18 without taking the gaokao, China's national university entrance exam, and started working to support his parents.

His childhood dream refused to fade though, so, in addition to providing for his family, Li squirreled away what little cash he could save in the hope of finally achieving his ambition. However, by 1994, when he'd amassed enough money to think about entering higher education, his hopes were crushed after an accident resulted in the gradual deterioration, and then complete loss, of the sight in both eyes. Like many blind people in China, Li's access to university was blocked by his disability, so the ex-farmer from Queshan county, Zhumadian city in Henan province had no alternative but to earn a living as a "blind masseur".