Raoul's China Saloon (V5.0) Beta
The Bar Room => The BS-Wrestling Pit => Topic started by: yli on April 06, 2013, 07:46:46 AM
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Hey guys, I'd like some sources which explore the topic of disability in China as well as personal anecdotes.
A fiction project I'm working on focuses extensively of people in China who are in some way marginalized, alienated or otherwise crushed by the insanity that is the Middle Kingdom. Given the large number of people with disabilities, the priority Chinese people place on image inside and outside the home and the frequent abandonment of children with disabilities, it's nearly impossible to write about the dark and grungy parts of China without addressing the most vulnerable and exploited portions of its society.
I'm especially curious about the level of employment of individuals with disabilities. I know that many people, especially those who are physically disabled, do not register as such with the government and are educated in mainstream school environments and may end up pursuing normal/semi-normal employment. Not everyone ends up as a beggar or ends up at home being taken care of by their family.
Anecdote here: http://thegimpparade.blogspot.com/2007/12/disability-in-china.html
Yes I've used Google and yes I have my own sources and observations. However, I just want to get some input from the rest of you guys as well. I separated this thread from my main story thread because I want to focus on the factual aspects of this for now.
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I used to live right next to a very large deaf school in Kunming, and then, in Beijing, I used to live near a school for the blind.
Blind students are often trained as masseurs. I don't see it so much in Beijing, but down south I used to see loads of blind massage places. Blind masseurs are supposed to be the best because of their excellent sense of touch.
Have you ever been to Dali, in Yunnan? There's a little bakery/cafe there, called The Sweet Tooth. The bakery employs entirely deaf workers and is run as a non-profit to benefit the deaf community in Dali. The food and coffee there is top notch, I have breakfast there practically every single day when I visit Dali.
Not everyone ends up as a beggar, but the situation for the disabled is very precarious (the disability they receive from the government is a pittance, not nearly enough to survive on, and when they age and their parents pass on, many do not have the ability to care for themselves) and so for people doing charitable work with disabled people in China, a big focus is on giving them some way of making their own income, whether that be through learning a trade or learning how to produce some sort of craft.
You might try searching videos on Youku or Tudou. Local stations often do little segments on uplifting stories about disabled people who beat the odds, or charities involved with disabled children. I remember watching one about a guy with one arm who taught himself motorcycle repair somehow.
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Here's my little anecdote.
A couple weeks ago a Chinese friend and I went to The Crowne Hotel for lunch and bowling. When we drove in, the space closest to the front doors was marked with a handicap sign. My friend drove in. I was a bit shocked. When I asked him, he didn't seem to notice the sign. I made him find another one much further than the first.
As we walked up, he asked me about it. He is very educated, modern, travelled and sincere. He also had no concept of handicap parking. He knows about wheelchair access to buildings and whatnot. But why allow parking for disabled people?
1) Most of them are passengers
2) Some of them can drive
3) It's very common elsewhere
It took the better part of an hour going through the list.
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Sounds like a lot of sensationalism. Make people feel better with these so-called "success stories" when many more struggle to survive.
In Chongqing, the people who are obviously disabled are usually the ones begging. That, or parents desperate to provide support for their disabled child. There is a man in the local area who has a serious mental disability. He can't talk and walks with crutches. The local street sellers would yell at him walking by, or chase him away. Mind you, he also trashes their stalls from time to time. It's really saddening to see the complete lack of support for disabled people, especially mental disabilities.
I can't imagine what it would be like to be deaf here. China is already rude enough towards people who don't speak their language, and Chinese doesn't rely much on gestures or facial expressions to communicate.
It will probably take another 20 years for China to catch up. In Chinese, someone with a disability is commonly referred to as "canfei", which means broken and useless. That mentality needs to change if social equity is going to improve.
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In Chinese, someone with a disability is commonly referred to as "canfei", which means broken and useless. That mentality needs to change if social equity is going to improve.
Around here 残废 cánfèi is not often used towards a person unless they are cursing a (usually able-bodied) person for being lazy. cánfèi might be directed at the limb of a disabled person, like say an arm to say that the arm is useless. 残疾 cánjí is used for people. May just be a local thing, I dunno.
China is already rude enough towards people who don't speak their language, and Chinese doesn't rely much on gestures or facial expressions to communicate.
Wow, I don't agree with this at all.
I can't imagine what it would be like to be deaf here.
There is a deaf school nearby me and they are completely separate from anyone else as they go about their daily life. They are ignored and they ignore everyone else. I once signed 'ni hao" to a deaf kid and the people I was with asked me what I was doing and how I knew Chinese sign language. They didn't know what I'd 'said'. I had learned ni hao in the previous ten seconds as two deaf people greeted each other by pointing their index finger at each other then giving a thumbs up gesture. The fact that my friends who are from the area with deaf people around everywhere didn't know this, shows how little attention is paid to them.
Interestingly enough, the deaf kid (in his 20's) reacted to the greeting the way any Chinese person would. With a flurry of faster than light gestures. In other words, He wouldn't shut up and seemed to expect my Chinese was wonderful because I had signed ni hao.
Then again, I have no deaf friends in Canada. I was never in contact with any and I'm not sure 'separated' they are/feel from the rest of society.
I used to live in 浏阳 Liúyáng. Which is basically the capitol city of fireworks production in the world. There are a lot of disabled people due to explosions in the factories. About 1 in 20 students I had in the high school had some kind of disfigurement or disability and the percentage rises as you go up in generation. For the most part, disability and disfigurement in Liúyáng is ignored. Not the people, the disability. Everybody's family has been effected in some way and so there's little overt discrimination towards them at all. There are disabled businessmen in Liúyáng that have done quite well for their families.
In Liúyáng a begger doesn't have much of chance collecting money with a loss of a hand or foot. They are expected to be working.
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good post stil bjbjbjbjbj
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Hey guys, thanks for your stories.
The thing is, I don't know what/how precisely disability affects employment prospects. I know that it diminishes peoples' ability to find work, however, I see disabled people begging on the metro and then a few minutes later, I see people with that exact same disability/condition going to work. I think it has something to do with the level of education they have (duh) and the level of support they have from their families.
Poor people who would have done manual labor anyway in their station in life are usually the ones begging, especially if they've been abandoned/sold into slavery by their families. Rich people or even middle/somewhat low class people who care about their children will try to get them as much help as possible. A lot of times, people with disabilities attend school with their able bodied classmates, especially if the disability is not an intellectual impairment.
As for which conditions are more "beneficial", disorders affecting mobility are more easily "overcome" in China than developmental/intellectual impairments. Someone missing a limb or a few limbs can still attend a regular school and sit in a regular classroom. It would be harder for a blind/deaf person and even harder for a person with intellectual disabilities. The last ones require tailored education plans, which are outside the financial purview of most Chinese. Therapy like this: http://www.dnaindia.com/health/1782330/report-dolphin-therapy-makes-chinese-autistic-boy-aware-alert
is beneficial but rare and highly expensive.
I think most Chinese people just try to hide whatever problem they have to the best of their abilities and go on living as normally as they can given their station in life. I think the aspect of face prevents people from being more vocal with regards to accommodations/rights.
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Adding to that yli, it isn't just out of the financial purview of most Chinese, it is that most Chinese people do not live in Beijing or Shanghai, and so even people who are solidly middle class or well-to-do peasants, they're going to be limited by the resources available in their area.
Ever notice how non-wheelchair accessible most of China is? Beijing is better than most cities because the Olympics and the Paralympics came through, and so there was a big push for accessibility, but most of China is completely inaccessible for someone who uses a wheelchair. Schools for the blind and deaf are great -- but you have to have one near you. Mainstreaming kids with physical disabilities? Sounds good in theory, but if you're in a one-room schoolhouse in Qinghai and you have one teacher for grades 1-4, that teacher does not really have the capacity to serve as an aid for a child with disabilities. If you compare China to most developed countries in terms of pure resources available and allocated for education of children with physical/mental differences, the difference is tremendous. In the States, these people are protected by law -- public places HAVE to be wheelchair accessible, public school MUST accommodate differences, but in China, obviously, the situation is totally different.
As for conditions like autism, China's understanding of that lags so far behind the rest of the developed world that it is pretty shocking. In my son's kindergarten there were at least two or three children who were very obviously different. Their parents, however, had their heads completely in the sand and were convinced that their child would grow out of their condition. Most refused any sort of help, and were offended if you suggested their child had issues. One mother reluctantly sent her child (who flapped his hands, walked in circles, never made eye contact, and was barely verbal) to a local "training center" for autistic kids. He made huge "progress," but I think it was really a matter of conditioning him to respond in certain, socially acceptable ways. Not really modern therapy as we know it. Even my own son, when he was reaching 2 years old and hadn't started speaking yet, I wanted to get him evaluated and possibly placed in speech therapy, and outside of the major international hospitals, I didn't know where to even start. My mom has kids in her class (she's a Montessori teacher) who have relatively minor issues (like ADD), but the parents refuse any sort of help or to acknowledge that there is anything out of the ordinary with their child.
This is one of those issues that you could write an entire dissertation on. There are charities out there that are trying to help, and there are individual success stories (which is what I sort of misinterpreted your first post as looking for -- people who beat the odds somehow) but for most disabled people in China, the best they can really hope for is learning some kind of trade that will keep them employed or having a family committed to caring for them throughout their lives. Keep in mind that in China, even if educational opportunities exist, employment practices are still very discriminatory, and appearance is very important in any industry where the employee will have to face the public. So no, the outlook for most disabled people in China is not that great. I think individuals try and do what they can, but obviously a big push needs to come from the government so that disabled people can have access to the resources that would allow them to reach their fullest potential.
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Hey guys, thanks for your stories.
The thing is, I don't know what/how precisely disability affects employment prospects. I know that it diminishes peoples' ability to find work, however, I see disabled people begging on the metro and then a few minutes later, I see people with that exact same disability/condition going to work. I think it has something to do with the level of education they have (duh) and the level of support they have from their families.
Why do some girls work in the factory but others in the same situation become prostitutes? In some instances, perhaps begging is more financially lucrative than other options.
I think most Chinese people just try to hide whatever problem they have to the best of their abilities and go on living as normally as they can given their station in life.
Don't we all?
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When I was working at a software company in Shanghai there was a girl working there who had dwarfism. At the time, I don't think I'd ever seen anyone with a disability working before. Even so, the office was definitely not an easy place for her to work and even simple things, like opening doors, were very difficult for her to do without help.
I distinctly remember being at a bar one evening and seeing a guy on crutches. My first instinct was "oh, a beggar is coming" and it ended up just being a guy who broke his leg and was having a beer with friends. Not sure if disabled people are that uncommon walking around with friends or I've just been becoming less observant... either way, I'm embarrassed for jumping to that kind of conclusion.
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Maybe you would have felt better if you gave him wu mao? :)
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When I was working at a software company in Shanghai there was a girl working there who had dwarfism. At the time, I don't think I'd ever seen anyone with a disability working before. Even so, the office was definitely not an easy place for her to work and even simple things, like opening doors, were very difficult for her to do without help.
TLD makes a bunch of good points, however I'd like to know more about the girl with dwarfism, since although China produces a large number of talented IT professionals, she was hired anyway. (I'm guessing you (FRB) probably didn't talk to her at all though.)
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Maybe FRB knows the answer, but the cynical side of me says "guanxi," that she was related to someone or hired as a favor to someone else.
But who knows. IT is not really the kind of of job that requires a good public face so maybe she was just that good and they didn't think the dwarfism mattered.
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I currently live in Chongqing, which is, from what other people tell me, a relatively culturally conservative city. I can't say I see much of people with disabilities. I think a lot of them tend to be hidden away at home to be taken care of.
Around here 残废 cánfèi is not often used towards a person unless they are cursing a (usually able-bodied) person for being lazy. cánfèi might be directed at the limb of a disabled person, like say an arm to say that the arm is useless. 残疾 cánjí is used for people. May just be a local thing, I dunno.
In Cantonese, cánfèi has still lingered on in common language, although people have been converting over to the more politically correct terms. We don't talk about disabilities much here with Chongqingers, so I don't know if it's still commonly used here. I wouldn't be surprised.
China is already rude enough towards people who don't speak their language, and Chinese doesn't rely much on gestures or facial expressions to communicate.
Wow, I don't agree with this at all.
Well, I'm guessing you don't a) live in Chongqing where people appear to have never seen foreigners before, and b) don't look Chinese and are expected to understand and respond coherently to an endless babble in local dialect. I get some of the dirtiest looks and the rudest responses when I'm not standing next to an obvious-looking foreigner. I can't even pretend to be deaf. Don't know how to say it in Chinese. Not everyone is rude. Some of these people are lovely. There are assholes everywhere. Fact of life.
What I know of Chinese is that it is language that is not based much off body language. Most of the nuances are contained within the word choice (or 4 character proverb choice) and volume. People who are not making much of an effort to communicate, or have never spoken to a foreigner before, would not even think to use gestures.
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That was an interesting story about the deaf school. I wonder how complex Chinese sign language is compared to spoken and written Chinese. I can't imagine how much it would cost to send your kid to a school for the deaf. I would imagine that there are some state-funded ones, albeit not enough. Was that school public or private?
Then again, I have no deaf friends in Canada. I was never in contact with any and I'm not sure 'separated' they are/feel from the rest of society.
It's rather hard to communicate when you don't share a common mode of communication. One of my best friend's mom is deaf. She says her mom stays at home a lot and keeps to herself. When she does go out, she would usually hang out with her deaf friends. I think it comes out of segregation by necessity. I've also seen a deaf lady lead a public speaking society. She was capable of reading lips and was quite the speaker herself. Excellent conversations were had with her using spoken language.
Really, dealing with disabilities is a mixture of social acceptance, programs to help adapt these people's needs to society, and personal perseverance. As much as I like to be optimistic about some things, I don't think China has persons with disabilities at the top of their list of priorities.
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Maybe FRB knows the answer, but the cynical side of me says "guanxi," that she was related to someone or hired as a favor to someone else.
But who knows. IT is not really the kind of of job that requires a good public face so maybe she was just that good and they didn't think the dwarfism mattered.
It probably isn't too hard to pick up a job like back-end engineering or something like that if you're qualified. Since all job seekers have strengths and weaknesses, being short is pretty easy to overlook in an IT job. "Is short" is a flaw but something like "knows JavaScript better than the other candidate" is a plus which would hugely outweigh the con, even in a place like China.
The biggest problem is getting enough schooling for such a position, which would definitely be a hurdle in China.
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Interesting side note. I've been in Hong Kong the past two days. 2 minutes after leaving the hotel to grab some chow, I passed a nicish hotel that had outside stairs. One of the bellhops was using a wheelchair equipped with a stair climber. He was coming down to pick somebody up.
In the last two days, I've also seen:
- a store selling various wheelchairs, walking canes, etc
- a bus lowing itself and extending a ramp for a passenger in a chair
- the subway station closest to me has wall mounted bars that are used like a railway for an electronic device that allow disabled people and/or wheelchairs to go up and down the stairs
- also many people who are very visably handicapped (not trying to ridicule, just pointing out more than a simple impairment) All of them out and about with friends, often more than 1
This equates to 10 times more than what I see on the mainland. And like I mentioned, in only 2 days!
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Interesting side note. I've been in Hong Kong the past two days. 2 minutes after leaving the hotel to grab some chow, I passed a nicish hotel that had outside stairs. One of the bellhops was using a wheelchair equipped with a stair climber. He was coming down to pick somebody up.
In the last two days, I've also seen:
- a store selling various wheelchairs, walking canes, etc
- a bus lowing itself and extending a ramp for a passenger in a chair
- the subway station closest to me has wall mounted bars that are used like a railway for an electronic device that allow disabled people and/or wheelchairs to go up and down the stairs
- also many people who are very visably handicapped (not trying to ridicule, just pointing out more than a simple impairment) All of them out and about with friends, often more than 1
This equates to 10 times more than what I see on the mainland. And like I mentioned, in only 2 days!
I'm pretty sure that such things will happen when Beijing or Shanghai gets to an inflation adjusted GDPPC of $50,000 a year.
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I saw a Downs Syndrome kid in Shanghai over the weekend and it made me think of this thread.
Where are all the Downs kids in China? In Dublin, in the suburbs, they are a part of everyday life, working in local shops and going to local schools. I used to work with Downs kids in my summer holidays back in uni way way long ago.
Where are they all in China, or do I not want to know?? aoaoaoaoao
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I used to work with Special Olympics, but I don't see them here.
In Guangzhou there is a one foot wide bumpy tile running down the length of every sidewalk to help blind people navigate, but in 8 years I've only seen two. One was a foreigner and neither were fully blind. It's difficult to imagine a blind person walking around in GZ alone for more than a few minutes and surviving.
No one would help such a person because, "It could be a trap! It happened before in blah, blah, blah...."
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Years ago in Changchun, I was having lunch with some students. Outside there was an elderly man. I don't remember if it was his hand or foot, but he was obviously crippled. As I was giving him some money, one student tried to stop me. All the students said the old man probably cut off the limb himself.
I asked them if that means he is not allowed to eat anymore. I said that might be true, but I still don't care. We had a discussion as a group as to whether you are abetting those people who self-mutilate. I told them I'm not their judge and I hope they will never need to be in this position.
They all came from wealthy families. I think I reached some to a small degree, but I doubt they will all agree
Another time back in Toronto, a middle aged begger (but not disabled) asked for money. I offered him some fruit as I just returned from shopping. He declined, he wanted cash. I said sorry, I won't fuel his drinking, but I will try to help in other ways. I was a little surprised he declined. Most beggers get this from me, I would have thought they'd all say yes
It might be a bit off topic, but it might show why some folks are put off by helping others because it could ba a scam
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Well in China, there were some fairly well publicized cases where good samaritans helped people out and were later sued and accused of harming the people they were trying to help. About a year or so ago this got a lot of attention, with the whole thing coming to a head when that poor toddler was run over by several cars about close to 20 people walked by and didn't stop to help. So there's that, and probably what your students were talking about saying it could be a scam, like the poor old blind guy might deliberately fall down while you are walking him across the road and accuse you of pushing him or something.
As for the raised parts on the sidewalk for the blind, there are pretty much everywhere in Beijing. There's wheelchair access for most of the subway stations too, and I've actually seen them in action before, so they aren't just there for decoration. But, like I mentioned, Beijing hosted the Paralympics back in 2008 and basically had to make sure the city was equipped to handle a large number of disabled people, or lose massive face.
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The toddler in Foshan was lying there for a few hours in the middle of the day in a busy intersection. Hundreds or probably thousands passed her by, and they probably didn't see her with self-induced tunnel vision.
About the beggars, I've been back and forth on this my whole time in China. Sometimes I give, sometimes I don't. There's no rule that seems to make any sense. The only time I never give is when they are aggressive toward me.
Better to give and be wrong than not give and be right.
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Better to give and be wrong than not give and be right.
I like that.
In my time here, I've seen some odd shaped people. There was a lady who had a hunch back and stumps for legs. She basically sat like Jubba the Hut. Seriously, I'm not trying to marginalise her, just painting a picture. She also had a kid. As a street begger, she had very little else to do. We often gave.
I saw a man who was completely doubled over. His face was against his shins and he had to use a mirror to speak to people. Since he couldn't stand, he couldn't see the faces of those around him.
Sadly, I don't think there's a lot the gov't does for physical and mental handicapped people. So much for socialism. I guess these guys don't contribute to society or add to the gov't coffers, why spend a buck to help them
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Ha, ha, ha, Chinese socialism/communism. Oh, boy!
Anyway, you do see so many physical handicaps in China that are pretty much nonexistent in Western countries. I suspect a lot of these things are childhood deformities and problems that aren't too tough to cure before they become serious, but you at least need basic medical care for that. I really did take stuff like that for granted before moving to China.
Considering Guangdong is just about the richest place in the world, it's tough to find evidence of wealth in many places. We all know how things are.
A 30-something business man from Sweden told me that more Chinese people approve of their government than most other countries. I can't remember the exact stats. I told him they don't even know how to measure it. We were sitting in the newest, poshest part of Guangzhou, so he said, "Look at all this. Don't you think they're doing well?"
I thought he was being sort of selective. Most of GZ still looks like there was a war a long time ago that forced people away, the buildings rotted for a decade or two, then people came back and had another war. I just don't know how to describe it.
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You wonder just how much of the "disability" in China then really comes from untreated medical conditions. I know that a lot of people are sick and can't afford medical care. However, there's just not enough in the way of resources and cash to help everyone out I suppose.
Unless of course the Celebrants decide to go without Maotai for a short while or something. But that'd be too much of a sacrifice to make, wouldn't it?
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A 30-something business man from Sweden told me that more Chinese people approve of their government than most other countries.
He must have read it in People's Daily.
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Went to meet an American friend and the Swede was there. The Swede was very knowledgeable and did a lot of statistics work, could calculate, etc., but I still think he accepted a bogus premise.
We got on well after he quizzed me on American politics. He asked me what the incumbency rate is for the US Congress and he had what I'm pretty sure was the 2006 number of 96%, which is probably higher than anything in N. Korea or the USSR. Seriously, it's way past banana republic numbers. He said I was the first American he ever met who knew that, which is not surprising.
Still, I think people accepting the legitimacy of their own government can sometimes be a useful stat, but could simply mean that govt was good at fooling people. Anyway, I don't meet too many Chinese who are satisfied with their govt.
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As usual Wikipedia is good for a general introduction to the topic:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Disabled_Persons'_Federation
It would be good if someone could summarise the main points from this site:
http://www.cdpf.org.cn/clgk/clgk.htm
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TLD makes a bunch of good points, however I'd like to know more about the girl with dwarfism, since although China produces a large number of talented IT professionals, she was hired anyway. (I'm guessing you (FRB) probably didn't talk to her at all though.)
Sorry, I don't know the background about why she was hired. She'd started shortly before I left, so I never had her in any training sessions and our interactions didn't go much further than nihao and xiexie.
Given my current position in an HR department, where having a uterus is enough of a disability to bar you from getting employed without guanxi, I can't help from being a little cynical. But at the time, I'd assumed she'd been hired on merit. The whole thing just made me realize how few people with disabilities I'd seen working.
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Indeed, anyway guys, thanks for your help (again).
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As you said, so far only in Beijing and Shanghai
Fair receives overwhelming response
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-04/14/content_16399852.htm)
More than 1,000 job seekers and their families flooded a job fair for people with disabilities, held in Beijing on Saturday.
When the fair closed at 1 pm, about 145 candidates were offered interview opportunities, according to statistics released by Beijing Disabled People's Federation, one of the fair's organizers.
Those who failed to land a job interview blamed it on limited options and age discrimination.
About 60 State-run companies participated at the fair starting from 9 am at Beijing Workers' Service Center. Most of the 180 job positions offered are for low-skilled work in the service sector such as security guards and garage supervisors.
Tang Chunmei, one of the fair's organizing committee members, said a record number of more than 1,300 job hunters registered by 10:30 am.
"Most fairs we held attracted a maximum of 600 people, but the fair today was so popular that we had to stop people from coming in," she said.
One of the job seekers, Yan Shiyu, who was hoping to land an accounting-related job, said: "I arrived at about 10 am. There were so many people waiting outside that I was pushed by the crowd to go forward. My feet were stepped on many times."
"I feel a little disappointed after walking around the booths because there is no suitable position for me. I am interested in becoming an operator at a customer service center but the potential employers told me they only want those under the age of 30," said the 39-year-old.
But, she did not go home empty-handed. "Someone from the Disabled People's Federation provided a lot of useful information about the free training programs they run," she said.
Liu Jing, who was accompanied by her mother, managed to pass her resume to a potential employer before noon. The 23-year-old graphic designer said although she graduated more than two years ago, she worked from home as a freelancer as she has difficulties walking after two major cerebral palsy surgeries.
"I want to find a job related to designing but given my health conditions, I prefer to work somewhere near home and with flexible working hours," she said. "But, I know it won't be easy to find such a job."
Chinese law stipulates that employers should allocate a minimum of 1.5 percent of its jobs to people with disabilities. Those failing to reach the quota will be fined. In Beijing, the figure stands at 1.7 percent.
Ren Zhiyong, a human resource director from Beijing Urban Construction Group, said his company paid 5.8 million yuan ($936,700) for failing to meet the legal requirement. Some 150 of the group's 20,000 employees are people with disabilities.
He said being a construction company, most of the jobs available are arduous and risky compared with other industries. Thus, there are very few job applicants with disabilities.
Ren said he received five resumes for two engineering vacancies but only one candidate matched the job requirements.
Zhang Lining, an associate researcher at the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of People's Government of Beijing Municipality, another organizer of the fair, said the fair "is far from perfect" but will help to raise awareness on the need to provide jobs to people with disabilities in the long run.
"It's the first job fair dedicated to those with disabilities, therefore, we cannot satisfy every job seeker. But, most employers told me they can feel that this group of people are very keen to work and they will provide more job opportunities for them in the future," he said, adding the government will hold more similar job fairs.
In 2012, there were 400,000 people with disabilities who registered in Beijing and 55.4 percent of those of working age were employed, according to statistics from the Beijing Disabled People's Federation. The national employment rate for those with disabilities stood at 43 percent in 2012
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Saw this guy today. Must be rough. He has no problems checking out the girls legs though.
(http://changshanotes.smugmug.com/Places/Changsha-Random/i-BHzJTNZ/0/1024x1024/DSC07270-1024x1024.jpg)
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His clothes seem a tad too fancy for him to be a mere beggar.
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Betcha he's a singer. See the portable speakers/amp in front of him?