Official statistics show that China currently has 85 million people with some form of disability, Xinhua reported. According to sources from Taobao, the country's largest e-commerce platform, more than 30,000 disabled people across the country are managing online stores at Taobao.com.
Gu Linglei is one such online store manager. The 28-year-old native of Hangzhou was born blind, but is no different from the many other retailers selling earphones and mobile phone top-up cards on the e-commerce platform.
Gu has to rely on screen-reading software to communicate with customers, but business is brisk. To date, he has clinched about 4,000 deals online and his store has a "4-diamond" rating-- a rating given to trustworthy stores by Taobao. "I like the Internet because it is open, convenient, and equal for all," Gu said.