What they say

Editor's Note: The State Council Information Office on Friday invited four speakers to talk about their involvement in the fight against disability-induced poverty. They were either disability welfare officials overseeing the poverty relief efforts on the ground, or the beneficiaries of government aid that helped them escape poverty in recent years.

The biggest obstacle I faced was raising nearly 1 million yuan ($143,000) to kick off my business. I don't have any assets and the bank would not loan me any money. Therefore, I set upon a journey to borrow from whomever I could. Sometimes I would end a day by crying. That's because nobody seemed to believe that I－disabled and female－could land a commercial success. But I didn't stop. Finally, I raised enough money from some kind-hearted people. The government also weighed in to help me get the financing.

Zhang Yaping, 31, an ethnic Tibetan with a walking disability, heads a rural cooperative helping fellow villagers escape poverty by raising cattle in south Gansu province.

I got a big order ahead of the Spring Festival in 2019. But the problem was that many logistics companies had suspended operations because Chinese New Year was just around the corner. I had no idea how I could deliver the goods to my customers. I called local officials, and they quickly helped me get in touch with a logistics company from Fujian province. After learning about my situation, the company decided to put off their holidays. They also gave me a handsome discount.

Xin Baotong, 33, paralyzed from the waist down, participated in a government-funded e-commerce training session and now owns an e-commerce startup in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

There is a farmer named Zhu Songtao in Shangcai county. The 34-year-old's father has severe disabilities. At first, the elder Zhu was reluctant to move into our nursing home for disabled people. I paid repeated visits to the Zhu family and managed to let him give it a shot. When he finally moved in, the elder Zhu felt very happy in the new community and said he felt the warmth of the Party and government policies. With his father in good care, the son managed to secure a job in the county seat, earning about 3,000 yuan ($458) a month. He later married.

Zhang Yinliang, chairman of the Disabled Persons' Federation of Zhumadian in Henan province, which is regarded as a showcase of how government-backed nursing facilities have helped curb poverty by easing burdens facing families with disabled relatives.

I feel honored to be involved in the nation's campaign to help disabled people shake off poverty over the past five years. I was deeply impressed by the emphasis that the central authorities had placed on the poverty reduction job among disabled people. Local authorities made curbing disability-induced poverty a crucial part of their overall task. Local disabled persons' federations also treated poverty relief as a paramount political task. The stories of those people, who managed to climb out of poverty despite disabilities, have been moving and inspiring.

Xie Hongde oversees poverty alleviation at the China Disabled Persons' Federation.