China aims to help 50,000 blind people to become massagists in
five years starting from 2006 to improve their living conditions
through providing training and other forms of support, according to
a national program on people with disabilities.
"That will push the total number of blind massagists to
140,000," says the program on development of the cause of people
with disabilities in the 11th Five-Year Plan period
(2006-2010).
According to the program, issued Thursday with the approval of
the central government, 40,000 of the new massagists will be
working in medical fields while 10,000 working in general health
care fields.
Massage is believed to be the most suitable job for people with
visual disabilities, the number of which is estimated at 8.77
million in China.
Earning more than 1,000 yuan (US$125) a month in some cases,
blind people with massage skills enjoy relatively high living
standards among people with disabilities.
Training blind massagists is just part of the national effort to
help China's 60 million people with disabilities acquire working
capabilities, which is "the main route for these people to improve
their living conditions, realize independence and display their
value in life", according to the program.
According to the program, China provided job training and
practical skill training to 5.73 million people with disabilities
in the past five years. Two million rural people and 1.67 million
urban people with disabilities found jobs during this period.
The program has set the target of helping another 750,000 urban
people with disabilities to find jobs and keeping the employment
level of rural people with disabilities at 18 million in the next
five years.
To make it possible, these people will be universally granted
job training if they want to take any jobs, says the program.
"We need to make great efforts to solve the sticking
difficulties of people with disabilities and also to promote
all-round personal development of them," Chinese Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu said Thursday at a national
conference on work concerning people with disabilities held in
Beijing.
Hui, who heads a committee under the State Council on work
concerning people with disabilities, called it part of the valuable
experience China has got in caring for people with
disabilities.
According to Hui, other parts of the experience are integrating
work concerning people with disabilities into overall economic and
social development plan and meanwhile adopting special policies and
measures to support development of cause of such people; adhering
to the dominant role of the government in such affairs and
meanwhile giving full play to participation of various sides of the
society.
Hui said such practices, which have proven effective, should be
carried forward and improved in future work.
At the end of 2005, 18 million rural people with disabilities
had jobs while 4.64 million urban people with disabilities had
jobs.
(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2006)