Deng Pufang, president of the China Disabled Persons'
Federation (CDPF), has been awarded the 2003 United Nations
Prize in the Field of Human Rights. Deng is the first Chinese
person and the first disabled person to win this special honor.
This attests to the approval of the international community of
China's persistent safeguard of the legitimate rights and interests
of disabled people.?
The following is an interview by People's Daily staff
reporter Yuan Jianda with Deng.
Q: Congratulations on winning the 2003 UN human
rights prize. As a disabled person, what do you think of the award
you just received?
Deng: As the UN gave the human rights prize
this time to a disabled Chinese person, it serves a dual purpose.
First, it demonstrates that over the past years, China's human
rights protection has made great headway, and the government's
sustained effort in the field has gained the approval of the
international community.
Second, it indicates that issues for disabled people have drawn
worldwide attention. More and more people began to view this
question from the position of human rights. Currently an
international convention on disabled persons' rights is being
drafted, showing that the international community has attached
great importance to safeguarding the rights of disabled people.
Q: Judging from your receiving the UN award,
can we say the situation for China's disabled people is
satisfactory?
Deng: Definitely not. Under no circumstances
should we say that. However, great progress has been made in this
respect.
In terms of the real living conditions of disabled people in
China, over 10 million?of them?are living below the
national poverty line. Far from being satisfactory, to tackle the
issue of disabled people at its root cause, the road ahead is still
very long.
Q: As is well known, you became paralyzed from
the waist down during the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976). You
have been widely quoted as saying "Inhuman chaos left me with a
paralyzed body, but I'm now using it to build up a humanitarian
system in China." Is this your ultimate goal in life?
Deng: I must make a necessary correction here.
As a matter of fact, your quotation is not what I originally said,
but it indeed voices my innermost thoughts and feelings. To promote
humanitarianism in China is a lofty goal that I shall pursue
throughout my life. After all, humanitarian philosophy was once
missing from China's history.
In the 1960s, humanitarianism was vehemently criticized in
China. Then a number of atrocious, inhuman crimes were committed
during the notorious "cultural revolution." This was a lesson
written in blood. History tells us that only once humanitarian
ideas have taken root in the hearts of the people, both human
rights and human dignity can be respected.
Q: What is the appropriate way for a physically
sound person to treat a disabled one?
Deng: First and foremost, all good and
kind-hearted people should have sympathy for the disabled.
At the same time, disabled people should be respected in
society. For a disabled person, to get uninvited aid is very
important in daily life, but it's even more so for them not to be
regarded as handicapped or useless. More disabled persons
appreciate respect from?other people's
innermost?heart.
Confronted with their own physical deformity, some disabled
people tend to have a strong sense of inferiority. In reality, this
phenomenon has been caused by deep-seated social prejudice and
discrimination. Contrasting sharply, some other disabled people
have constantly strived through adversity. They are never defeated;
on the contrary, they carry tenaciously against misfortune, and
eventually are able to stand on equal footing with others. Their
courage is worthy of great esteem.
Q: You have been the president of the China
Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF) for many years. In your
opinion, as far as poor disabled people are concerned, what are the
problems that need a solution urgently? And what has the CDPF done
for the disabled in the past?
Deng: Well, in this respect, the basic
necessities of a disabled person's life -- namely food, clothing
and shelter -- have to be assured in the first instance.
In recent years, the government has devoted major efforts to
implementing an "aid-the-poor" program nationwide. Each year a loan
is set up exclusively for the use of helping poor disabled people
shake off poverty. Besides the problem of inadequate food and
clothing, there still exist many other issues including medical
treatment, education and employment that need to be settled
urgently.
Over previous years, the CDPF has helped 8.8 million disabled
people recover their health and dignity. In terms of disabled
peoples' education, in 1987, school enrollment rate was only 2.7
percent for blind children, 5.5 percent for deaf children, and 0.33
percent for mentally retarded children. Thanks to CDPF's efforts,
so far the gross school enrollment rate has reached 74 percent all
told. The number of special education schools for the needs of the
disabled has increased from 500 or so in the beginning to over
1,600 nowadays. In particular, during the 1980s and 1990s, almost
every year saw an increase of some 100 special education
schools.
In terms of disabled people's employment, the CDPF collected
serious money at first, and then spent the money on vocational
training. Against the background of a large number of workers being
laid off, the employment rate has kept rising for the disabled.
This is a remarkable achievement.
The 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC)
has clearly put forward the objective of building a well-off
society in an all-round way in China. However, helping the disabled
get rid of poverty is one thing; helping them live a well-off life
is another. To a greater extent, the latter relies on knowledge
accumulation and professional competence improvement by the
disabled themselves. To be quite frank, in this respect we're still
trying to gather experience.
Q: To better protect disabled people's rights,
what has the CDPF done in terms of the country's policy-making?
Deng: Over a decade has passed since the
implementation of the law on the protection of the disabled in
1990. As the society has changed a lot, some stipulations in the
law look outdated today. Consequently, the amendment of the
13-year-old law has been put on the agenda.
Besides, we are drafting rules and regulations relating to
disabled people's employment, which aim to create a fair employment
environment for the disabled.
Local legislation should take disabled people's interests into
account. According to many countries' traffic regulations, when
physical conditions permit, disabled people are allowed to drive
cars. This is a good example for us. However, our city mayors seem
to be more concerned about the issue of motor tricycles assisting
disabled people. Indeed, driving a motor tricycle may cause some
traffic problems. But just imagine, if all motor tricycles were
banned, as some mayors have suggested, what would the disabled do
to be mobile?
In terms of law enforcement, both the National People's Congress
and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference should
strengthen supervision, and solve disabled people's difficulties
and needs.
Q: As is well known, you are the son of the
late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. Did your father give you any
help during his lifetime, in the protection of the disabled?
Deng: As a matter of fact, I never asked a
personal favor of my father, because I don't want to give other
people a false impression that I was benefiting from my father's
reputation. Nevertheless, I have been deeply impressed by his
selfless support of the work of protecting the disabled.
(China.org.cn by Shao Da and Daragh Moller, December 25,
2003)