Employment rate for China's disabled exceeds 80 percent: white paper

The rate of employment for the disabled has exceeded 80 percent in China, says a white paper on China's human rights progress in 2004 issued by the Information Office of the State Council on Wednesday.

"The disabled persons' education and employment have been better guaranteed," the white paper says.

In 2004, 305,000 disabled people in the urban areas were newly employed, while in the rural areas 16.241 million disabled people engaged in crop farming, fish breeding and poultry raising, or household handicraft making.

According to the paper, the state compulsory education has covered the disabled children, whose enrollment rate has been rising continuously.

In 2004, 4,112 disabled students were admitted to institutions of higher learning, 543,000 disabled people received vocational education and training, and over 40,000 impoverished disabled students received financial assistance, the document says.

In September 2004, the State Council officially approved a second national sample survey regarding the disabled people, which would gather basic information on their present situations, and provide a detailed, reliable basis for the government to formulate and implement laws, regulations, development plans concerning the disabled, in a bid to help them be better off.