China’s path for developing the cause of people with disabilities

It is pointed out in the white paper recently released by the State Council Information Office entitled "Equality, Participation and Sharing: 70 Years of Protecting the Rights and Interests of Persons with Disabilities in the PRC”, that for the 70 years since the founding of the PRC, China has examined its actual situation and found a path with Chinese characteristics for developing the cause of people with disabilities. The country has striven to promote and protect the rights and dignity of people with disabilities and guarantee that they can participate as equals in economic, political, social and cultural matters.

The path was discovered and developed in the proceedings of the great undertaking of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. The cause of people with disabilities is an important component of that undertaking. The most fundamental reason why the development of China’s cause of people with disabilities has been displaying distinct Chinese characteristics is that it originates from, is subordinate to, and is rooted in socialism with Chinese characteristics. It absorbs the nutrition for development offered by the theory, path, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and draws on the conditions and foundations created during that development. The great attention of the Party and gogernment has also provided people with disabilities in China with an equal status and lifted their cause in the new era to a new stage. The important narratives from General Secretary Xi Jinping on the cause of people with disabilities have raised the Party’s understanding of the rule for developing the cause of people with disabilities to a new height, shown the way forward and offered a fundamental principle to follow for developing the cause of people with disabilities with Chinese characteristics in this era; they serve as an ideological and action guideline for the work regarding people with disabilities. The narratives make “the cause of people with disabilities in a new era” a significant issue.

The path was explored and advanced based on China’s actual situations. Given that China is still at the preliminary stage of socialism and there are 85 million people with disabilities in the country, China has been learning from and drawing on instead of completely copying foreign experiences, promoting integration of the international campaign of people with disabilities with Chinese practices, advocating the concept and value of “equality, participation and sharing”, and adhering to the strategy of “laying a solid foundation and focusing on the actual effect.” All these steps have not only lead to the golden age of China’s cause of helping people with disabilities, but also showcase its future.

The path was manifested through long-term practices under the leadership of the Party. Over the 70 years since the founding of the PRC, China’s cause of people with disabilities has grown into a comprehensive social undertaking with a wide range of fields and distinctive features from merely a social welfare system of adoption and providing relief.

Thanks to long-term exploration and practices, the cause of people with disabilities with Chinese characteristics has generated rich connotations, which can be summarized in the following five aspects:

I. Adhering to the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The leadership of the CPC is the fundamental guarantee for the sustained development of the cause of people with disabilities and the acceleration of improvement of their situation. It‘s also the biggest political advantage for properly handling the work regarding people with disabilities.

II. Adhering to promoting core socialist values and the humanitarian spirit. China has been greatly publicizing core socialist values, actively promoting the humanitarian spirit, and firmly building a perception about people with disabilities which fits modern civilized society, which means fully respecting the dignity of people with disabilities, recognizing their value, protecting their rights, and facilitating their liberalization. In doing so, the concept of “equality, participation and sharing” has become increasingly popular among the public.

III. Adhering to the integration of the overall state development. In order to promote coordinated development of the cause for people with disabilities with the economy and society generally, China has developed and implemented seven consecutive five-year special plans. The interests of people with disabilities are an important part of both overall planning for national economic and social development and national planning for the equality of basic public services. In addition, related government departments have all adequately taken into account the need of people with disabilities when developing their special planning and work plans.

IV. Adhering to developing the cause for people with disabilities and protecting their rights and interests under the law. Under the fundamental strategy of governing the country by law, China has established a legal system for the cause for people with disabilities, with the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China as its core, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of People with Disabilities as its trunk, and four regulations, namely the Regulation on Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities, the Regulation on the Education of people with disabilities , the Regulation on the Employment of people with disabilities and the Regulation on the Construction and Management of Accessible Facilities as its critical pillars. The integration of protection of human rights and social development, together with the integration of protection of rights and interests and welfare promotion, has become an importance feature of construction of the rule of law in support of people with disabilities in China.

V. Adhering to letting people with disabilities themselves play the leading role in their cause. With its multiple advantages, the China Disabled Persons’ Federation has been serving as a bridge between the Party and government and people with disabilities in the country, and has become the backbone with Chinese characteristics of the cause for people with disabilities. The federation has been carrying out all sorts of activities to help people with disabilities learn knowledge and develop skills, continuously improving their quality of life and their ability to participate in society, creating conditions for them to receive equal education, become employed, participate in cultural activities and fully fit into society, and better realizing the objective of “equality, participation, and sharing” for people with disabilities in economic political, social and cultural areas.

The author is Li Caimao, secretary-general of the China Disability Research Society.

This is a translation of an excerpt of a Chinese article.