Political advisor calls for more support for disabled

The authorities should review and create policies that help China's 9.64 million handicapped people who live in poverty, to ensure they live a moderately prosperous life by 2020, a political advisor said Friday.

A nationwide survey showed that an unproportional number of handicapped people under the poverty line lived in rural areas, said Bo Shaoye, member of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which is holding its annual session in Beijing.

With a lack of employment opportunities and medical supports, disabled people, on average, earn half the national average, said Bo.

Some 900,000 handicapped people do not have their own houses while another 710,000 live in substandard and dangerous houses, said the advisor.

Among those aged 15 or above, 43 percent of handicapped are illiterate, far higher than the 4 percent for the overall population.

The government should look into disabled housing, as well as social insurance and technical training programs, which will aid their employment prospects, said Bo.

China has 85 million disabled people, six percent of the total population. Some 70 percent live in rural areas.

The central government aims to lift 55 million rural people out of poverty in the coming five years, in order to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society by 2020. Endi