State Councilor Liu Yandong spent this year's International Children's Day with orphans, disabled and quake-effected children in hospitals and schools in Beijing, calling on the whole society to ensure them a happy and healthy development.

"We must ensure the best treatment and care for all the children who survived the quake, to let them recover from the trauma as soon as possible," she said at a hospital where 97 quake-injured children were receiving treatment.

Liu attended a festival held at Ju Shan School in the capital's Haidian District with children who had mostly come from the family of migrant workers. The youngsters recited a poem entitled "I Can Do It".

She called for a better environment for their lives and studies to make them feel at home.

Liu, along with Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong and Education Minister Zhou Ji, also went to a school for mentally-handicapped children and watched a sign language performance.

She hailed the work of the teachers and hoped that more handicapped children could feel the love from the society.

(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2008)