Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Combined second and third periodic reports submitted by China under article 35 of the Convention, due in 2018 * , **

[Date received: 31 August 2018]

Contents

Page

Introduction3

Part IGeneral provisions4

Articles 1–4Purpose, definitions, general principles and general obligations4

Part IISpecific rights6

Article 5Equality and non‑discrimination6

Article 8Awareness‑raising7

Article 9Accessibility8

Article 10Right to life9

Article 11Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies9

Article 12Equal recognition before the law10

Article 13Access to justice10

Article 14Liberty and security of person11

Article 15Freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment12

Article 16Freedom from exploitation, violence or abuse12

Article 17Protecting the integrity of the person12

Article 18Liberty of movement and nationality13

Article 19Living independently and being included in the community13

Article 20Personal mobility14

Article 21Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information14

Article 22Respect for privacy15

Article 23Respect for home and the family16

Article 24Education16

Article 25Health18

Article 26Habilitation and rehabilitation19

Article 27Work and employment19

Article 28Adequate standard of living and social protection20

Article 29Participation in political and public life21

Article 30Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport22

Part IIIWomen and children with disabilities24

Article 6Women with disabilities24

Article 7Children with disabilities24

Part IVSpecific obligations25

Article 31Statistics and data collection25

Article 32International cooperation25

Article 33National implementation and monitoring27

Introduction

The present report is the combined second and third periodic reports of the People’s Republic of China submitted under article 35 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (hereafter “the Convention”).

The present report comprises three sections: the first describes the implementation of the Convention in China, and was compiled by the Central Government of China; the second describes the implementation of the Convention in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of China, prepared by the government of the HKSAR; and the third describes the implementation of the Convention in the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) of China, prepared by the government of the MSAR.

The views of experts in the legal and administrative fields, judicial organs, non‑governmental organizations and related areas, as well as members of the general public, were broadly solicited in the process of compiling this report.

Part IGeneral provisions

Articles 1–4Purpose, definitions, general principles and general obligations

1.There are currently some 85 million persons with disabilities in China. President Xi Jinping has noted that “in the comprehensive construction of a moderately prosperous society by 2020, not a single person with disabilities can be left behind”. Since 2010, the following major developments have taken place with regard to persons with disabilities in China:

2.First, the system for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities has been further improved. China has produced a system of laws and regulations concerning persons with disabilities, centred on the Constitution, with the Law on the Protection of Disabled Persons as its mainstay, and the Regulations on Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation for Persons with Disabilities, the Regulations on the Education of Persons with Disabilities, the Regulations on the Employment of the Disabled, and the Regulations on the Construction of Barrier‑free Environments as its primary supports. As of April 2018, there were more than 80 laws and 50 administrative regulations directly related to the protection of the rights and interests of persons with disabilities. Specific examples abound, beginning with the stipulation in the Chinese national Constitution that “the State respects and protects human rights”. The Law on the Protection of Disabled Persons stipulates that “Persons with disabilities shall enjoy equal rights with other citizens in political, economic, cultural, social and family life.” The Regulations on the Construction of Barrier‑free Environments (2012) set standards for building accessible facilities, information exchange, and community services. The Mental Health Law (2012) protects the rights of patients with mental impairments. The Regulations on the Education of Persons with Disabilities (as amended in 2017) stipulate that the State guarantees the right of persons with disabilities to equal access to education. The Regulations on Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation for Persons with Disabilities (2017) set standards for disability prevention, rehabilitation services, and safeguard measures. The Law on the Promotion of Small and Medium‑Sized Enterprises (2017) stipulates enterprise support policies for persons with disabilities. The Enterprise Income Tax Law (2017) stipulates that wages paid by enterprises to persons with disabilities for whom they have provided positions may be deducted when calculating the amount of taxable income for that enterprise. Moreover, the Criminal Procedure Law (as amended in 2012), the Tourism Law (2013), the Anti‑Domestic Violence Law (2015), the Charity Law (2016), the Public Cultural Services Guarantee Law (2016), the Film Industry Promotion Law (2016), the Law on Public Libraries (2017), and the General Provisions of the Civil Law (2017) all contain provisions safeguarding the rights of persons with disabilities.

3.China is also improving the system of standards for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. In 2011, it promulgated the Classification and grading criteria for disability (GB/T 26341‑2010) national standard, setting out the terminology and definitions for classifying and grading disabilities. The Standardization Administration [of the People’s Republic] of China and related industry standards committees have formulated 113 national standards and 7 industry standards, while another 68 national and industry standards are in the process of being drafted.

4.Second, initial steps have been taken toward establishing a basic public service system for persons with disabilities. In 2017, the State Council issued a guidance document on promoting equalization of basic public services during the Thirteenth Five‑Year Plan (2016–2020), emphasizing basic public services for persons with disabilities in a special chapter and putting forward key tasks and safeguards measures for basic public services for persons with disabilities during the period of the Plan. The document provides an important follow‑up and strong guarantee for improving the level of basic public services for persons with disabilities and helping them overcome poverty and the difficulties associated with it.

5.Third, the living conditions of persons with disabilities have improved significantly. China has incorporated poor persons with disabilities living in rural areas into the overall poverty alleviation efforts of the Government, unifying deployment, synchronizing implementation and conducting assessments. Poor persons with disabilities are provided particular support as a key population group in the process of targeted poverty alleviation. A comprehensive protection mechanism tailored specifically for persons with disabilities, comprising a subsistence‑allowance system for persons with disabilities in difficult circumstances and a subsidy system for nursing care of persons with severe disabilities, has been implemented in all districts and counties. Since its implementation, this system has benefited persons with disabilities in more than 21 million instances.

6.Fourth, further improvements have been made in the social environment for equal participation of persons with disabilities. When legislative bodies at all levels formulate laws and regulations concerning persons with disabilities, and when governments at all levels formulate policies concerning persons with disabilities, they actively solicit the opinions of persons with disabilities, their organizations and the public in a variety of ways. For example, recommendations in Braille submitted by people with visual disabilities were among the more than 64,700 recommendations received during the compilation of the Outline of the Twelfth Five‑Year Plan for the National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China (2011–2015).

7.Fifth, the cause of persons with disabilities is becoming increasingly internationalized. In 2014, Zhang Haidi, president of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, was elected President of Rehabilitation International. In 2015, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, China and the United Nations jointly issued a commemorative postage‑stamp sheet on the theme of persons with disabilities in China. In 2016, China held a conference to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention. Ban Ki‑moon, then Secretary‑General of the United Nations, chaired the conference.

8.With regard to paragraph 9 of the concluding observations on the initial report of China, adopted by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at its eighth session (17–28 September 2012) (CRPD/C/CHN/CO/1; hereafter “the previous concluding observations”), the Chinese Government takes full note of the shortcomings of the medical model of disability, deeply recognizes the importance of guaranteeing the human rights of persons with disabilities within the framework of the Convention, and is actively putting the principle of the rights‑based approach into effect in its legislation, development planning and social policies. For example, the Measures for the Administration of Air Transport for the Disabled (2015) draw upon the Convention in defining persons with disabilities as “including persons with long‑term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments, which, in interaction with various obstacles, may prevent persons with disabilities from participating fully and effectively in social activities on an equal basis with others.”

9.With regard to paragraph 10 of the previous concluding observations, China incorporates the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in the national action plans on human rights that it formulates. The National Human Rights Action Plan (2012–2015) emphasized that one of the objectives of implementing that Plan was to fully protect the lawful rights and interests of persons with disabilities, to develop the cause of persons with disabilities to promote their equal participation in social life. According to the Assessment Report on the Implementation of the National Human Rights Action Plan (2012–2015), issued in 2016, the above‑mentioned objectives were achieved on schedule. The National Human Rights Action Plan (2016–2020), which is currently under implementation, explicitly calls for the protection of the human rights of all persons with disabilities.

10.Since 2010, China has implemented two “national five‑year plans for persons with disabilities”, i.e. the Outline for the Development of the Disabled in China under the Twelfth Five‑Year Plan (2011–2015) and a guidance document on accelerating the process of bringing moderate prosperity to persons with disabilities during the Thirteenth Five‑Year Plan (2016–2020).

Part IISpecific rights

Article 5Equality and non‑discrimination

11.China prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability, resolutely defends the right of persons with disabilities not to be discriminated against, and is committed to making specific provisions on anti‑discrimination and reasonable accommodation in its legislation, development planning and policies. Since 2010, it has increased anti‑discrimination content in drafting and revising laws and regulations relating to persons with disabilities, and has instituted specific requirements and regulations on non‑discrimination.

12.The Mental Health Law (2012) stipulates that “no organization or individual shall discriminate against, insult or maltreat persons with mental impairments” and that “news reports, literary and artistic works, etc. shall not contain any content that discriminates against or insults persons with mental impairments”. The Law imposes legal liability for discrimination against people with mental impairments. The Regulations on the Education of Persons with Disabilities (as amended in 2017) stipulate that “any discrimination in education based on disability shall be prohibited”, and impose legal liability for discrimination against students with disabilities. The Regulations on Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation for Persons with Disabilities (2017) explicitly state that “discrimination based on disability is prohibited” and that “in providing rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities, the privacy of persons with disabilities shall be protected and no discrimination or insult against persons with disabilities shall be allowed”. The Measures for the Administration of Air Transport for the Disabled (2015) stipulate that “unless otherwise stipulated, the carrier shall not refuse to transport persons with disabilities who are otherwise eligible to board on the grounds that their disability may cause offence, disturbance or inconvenience to the crew or other passengers by their appearance or involuntary behaviour”.

13.China actively advocates reasonable accommodation. Since 2010, it has increasingly emphasized reasonable accommodation in drafting and revising laws and regulations relating to persons with disabilities in the areas of education, culture and social participation.

14.Guidance documents on the participation of persons with disabilities in the unified national examination for admission to regular institutions of higher education, issued in 2015 and 2017, and the Regulations on the Education of Persons with Disabilities (as amended in 2017) all reference “reasonable accommodation” and list specific ways of providing it.

15.The Regulations on the Construction of Barrier‑Free Environments (2012) stipulate that the electoral authorities are to accommodate the participation of persons with disabilities in elections and provide Braille ballots for the visually impaired. The Tourism Law (2013) stipulates that tourists with disabilities must enjoy accommodation in tourism in accordance with the law. The Measures for the Administration of Air Transport for the Disabled (2015) stipulate that civil air carriers must provide mobile assistive equipment for persons with disabilities in accordance with their needs and allow service dogs to accompany persons with disabilities on flights. The Film Industry Promotion Law (2016) stipulates that the State must encourage the accommodation of persons with disabilities for viewing films. The Public Cultural Services Guarantee Law (2016) stipulates that the Government has an obligation to provide commensurate public cultural services for persons with disabilities. The Law on Public Libraries (2017) stipulates that public libraries established by the Government must provide groups of persons with disabilities with documentary information, accessible facilities and services suited to their needs.

16.With regard to paragraphs 11 and 12 of the previous concluding observations, in order to further refine the legal definition of discrimination against persons with disabilities, China will conduct a legislative study on combating discrimination against persons with disabilities during the 2016 to 2020 period.

Article 8Awareness‑raising

17.The concept of broadly disseminating the Convention was promoted in the aforementioned guidance document on accelerating the process of bringing moderate prosperity to persons with disabilities during the Thirteenth Five‑Year Plan (2016–2020).

18.With regard to paragraphs 15 and 16 of the previous concluding observations, China has taken the following measures to raise awareness of equality for persons with disabilities in society as a whole:

19.First, China promotes theoretical research on the rights of persons with disabilities, and encourages human rights research institutions and human rights experts to conduct research on the rights of persons with disabilities. Peking University, Renmin University of China and other colleges and universities have established research institutes on development for persons with disabilities. The results of research on the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities are published in such journals as Human Rights, Disability Research and Disability Rights Studies in China, as well as on the “China Human Rights Network” websites, all of which actively promote research and publicity on the rights of persons with disabilities.

20.Second, China raises awareness of persons with disabilities via radio, television, newspapers, books and the Internet. In 2016, more than ten documentaries on disability‑related topics were included in a broadcast programme of short documentary films on the theme of the “China Dream”. By the end of 2017, there were 25 specialized radio programmes and 31 sign‑language television programmes for persons with disabilities at the provincial level, along with 198 specialized radio broadcasts and 254 television sign language programmes for persons with disabilities at the prefectural and municipal levels.

21.On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities in 2016, the People ’ s Daily newspaper published a commentary focusing on poverty alleviation for persons with disabilities. On July 19, 2017, the People ’ s Daily featured a full‑page article introducing the cause of persons with disabilities in China from the human rights perspective. In their reporting on Cai Cong, a person with a visual disability, the overseas edition of the People ’ s Daily and other media called on society as a whole not to view persons with disabilities simply from the perspective of their “disability”.

22.The Chinese Government publishes a yearly white paper on human rights in China, the relevant chapters of which introduce the latest progress and achievements in the cause of persons with disabilities. Every year, the Development Report on the Cause for Disabled Persons in China, compiled by well‑known scholars, records the progress of the cause of persons with disabilities in China.

23.Many articles conducive to raising public awareness of persons with disabilities are published on such Internet sites as the “China Disabled Persons’ Channel” of the China Internet Information Centre and the “China Disabled Persons Network” websites. The “China Youth Network” website reported on the “Month of Giving Voice to Disabled Persons in China”, a campaign initiated by persons with disabilities and their organizations to promote the concepts of equality, integration, respect and support for persons with disabilities. In 2016, the Supreme People’s Court published 10 typical cases involving the protection of the rights and interests of persons with disabilities, giving play to the guiding role of the judiciary in setting social norms.

24.Third, the Chinese Government conducts public information campaigns each year around such important dates as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the (Chinese) National Day for Helping the Disabled, Ear‑Care Day, Eye‑Care Day, International White Cane Safety Day and the International Day of the Deaf. In 2013, “China Ear‑Care Day” was designated as “International Ear‑Care Day” by the World Health Organization.

25.The foregoing efforts have greatly enhanced public awareness of persons with disabilities, promoted respect for their rights and dignity, reduced stereotypes and prejudices regarding persons with disabilities, and raised awareness of their abilities and contributions.

Article 9Accessibility

26.China continues to improve its system of laws and policies on accessibility. The Regulations on the Construction of Barrier‑free Environments (2012) provide legal guarantees for building accessible urban and rural environments, and the Implementation Programme for Construction of Barrier‑Free Environments during the Thirteenth Five‑Year Plan (2016–2020) stipulates explicit objectives in that regard. By the end of 2017, 451 regulations, rules and normative documents on accessibility implementation and management had been introduced nationwide. In 2018, seven Government departments, including the Ministry of Transport, jointly issued opinions on further strengthening and improving mobility services for older persons and persons with disabilities.

27.China has incorporated barrier‑free construction into the National Plan on New Urbanization (2014–2020). By the end of 2017, barrier‑free construction was being systematically implemented in 1,622 municipalities, counties and districts.

28.China is promoting accessible infrastructure, with newly formulated or revised technical standards and guidelines for such facilities, including the Code for design of metro (GB 50157‑2013) for subways, Cruise terminal design specifications (JTS 170‑2015), technical rules for statutory inspection of inland shipping (as amended in 2016) and port management regulations (as amended in 2018). The municipality of Shanghai is gradually upgrading its public transport to include accessible buses, and Guangzhou has more than 1,700 accessible buses. Most urban buses are equipped with on‑board screens and voiced systems for announcing stops, and some urban buses are equipped with on‑board guidance systems for the blind. The proportion of barrier‑free construction in newly‑built or renovated passenger transport facilities has reached 100 per cent in some provinces. The Measures for the Administration of Air Transport for the Disabled (2015) stipulate accessible facilities and equipment at airports. The railway authorities have promoted the accessibility conversion of passenger trains, allowing blind people to take guide dogs on trains and installing special seats for persons with disabilities on more than 3,400 electric multiple‑unit trains. The State is also investing funds for carrying out accessibility conversions of the homes of poor persons with severe disabilities; some 892,000 such homes underwent accessibility conversions in 2017. In line with President Xi Jinping’s directive on the “Toilet Revolution”, China will revise its national quality standards for tourist attractions, requiring high‑grade tourist attractions to be equipped with “third public toilets” to meet the toilet needs of special tourist groups.

29.China is promoting accessible information exchange, formulating new technical standards on information accessibility, such as the Information accessibility – Part 2: Accessibility design guides for information terminal equipment (GB/T 32632.2‑2016) and (Accessibility visually impaired Internet information service support system technical requirements) (YD/T 3076‑2016) standards for information systems accessible to persons with visual or other impairments. China actively participates in standardization activities in the field of international information accessibility; for example, it attended the annual meeting of the “JTC1/SC35” joint standardization subcommittee of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), held in the Republic of Korea, during which it was deeply involved in the discussion of standards in the “JTC1/SC35 WG6” User Interfaces Accessibility Working Group. China also participates in work on information accessibility standards for the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and in the compilation of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for the Consortium. China has implemented a nationwide “text 12110” police‑alarm and help‑seeking short‑message service (SMS) to facilitate persons with hearing or speech disabilities and others to call for help in emergency situations. In the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), China actively promotes and puts forward relevant suggestions for implementing information accessibility in non‑governmental public‑service websites. Live coverage of major Government events, such as the Nineteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, includes sign‑language broadcasting.

30.In response to paragraphs 17 and 18 of the previous concluding observations, and in order to develop accessible‑environment construction in villages and towns, the Ministry of Housing and Urban‑Rural Development, jointly with the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, visited numerous localities in April and May 2018 to inspect its implementation in villages and towns, hear the accessibility needs of persons with disabilities and older persons, and gain an understanding of local conditions with regard to accessible‑environment construction and accessibility conversion of family homes. The Ministry is in the process of organizing and compiling standards for creating accessible cities, counties, villages and towns in response to the requirements for that work set out under the Thirteenth Five‑Year Plan.

31.China monitors and assesses accessibility conditions. A set of detailed rules and regulations for the inspection of accessible‑environment construction in cities and counties, issued in 2015, put forward specific criteria for inspecting such construction. In 2017, five Government departments, including the Ministry of Housing and Urban‑Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, visited 15 provinces, regions and municipalities to check up on the implementation of the Regulations on the Construction of Barrier‑Free Environments. In the same year, the Ministry of Transport conducted a postal survey on barrier‑free mobility services to assess related conditions around the country. Accessible-facilities construction has been explicitly included in the service‑quality assessment criteria for expressway service areas. The China Consumers Association and China Disabled Persons’ Federation reported on their investigation and experience of facilities accessibility in more than a hundred cities across the country in 2017.

32.The Regulations on the Construction of Barrier‑Free Environments (2012) stipulate legal liability for failure to implement accessibility measures.

Article 10Right to life

33.“Respect for and protection of human rights” is written into the Code of Criminal Procedure (as amended in 2012).

34.With regard to paragraphs 19 and 20 of the previous concluding observations, the Action Plan to Combat Human Abduction and Trafficking in China (2013–2020) was issued in response to incidents of child abduction. The number of such cases has been greatly reduced since 2016 with the launching by the Ministry of Public Security of a platform for the periodic emergency issuance of information on missing children, to assist public security organs to resolve abduction and trafficking cases as rapidly as possible.

35.China has investigated the staged “mining accidents” referred to during the Committee’s previous deliberations, and has prosecuted and imposed sanctions on those responsible. In 2014, applicable penalties were imposed by the courts on the members of criminal gangs involved in the killing of miners in fraudulent compensation schemes.

Article 11Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies

36.In formulating emergency plans for natural disaster relief, all localities are required to give full consideration to the special situation of persons with disabilities and to prioritize providing them with emergency assistance, in accordance with a guidance document on strengthening social assistance for persons with disabilities, issued in 2015. In 2018, China set up a Ministry of Emergency Management.

37.Since 2010, China has launched timely national emergency‑relief responses to numerous natural disasters, focusing on persons with disabilities affected and ensuring that their basic living requirements are satisfactorily ensured. It has also provided commensurate rehabilitation and psychological counselling services for them.

38.In 2013, the General Office of the China National Commission for Disaster Reduction and other Government units began organizing activities for persons with disabilities, such as earthquake emergency evacuation drills and the publicizing of disaster prevention and mitigation. For example, after disaster prevention and mitigation drills were conducted for students with disabilities at schools for the blind in Fuyang, Anhui Province in 2014, they conducted a well‑ordered and casualty‑free evacuation when an earthquake occurred in that area the following year.

Article 12Equal recognition before the law

39.China continues to improve relevant laws and regulations to ensure that persons with disabilities are recognized equally before the law.

40.The General Provisions of the Civil Law (2017) stipulate that all civil subjects have equal legal status in civil activities. Civil subjects engaged in civil activities should follow the principle of voluntariness, establishing, modifying and terminating civil legal relations according to their own intentions. All natural persons have equal capacity for civil rights.

41.The Mental Health Law (2012) guarantees patients with mental impairments the right to informed consent to medical treatment and the right to discharge themselves from hospitals. It also ensures that patients with mental impairments have legal standing to act as plaintiffs in litigation.

42.In order to ensure self‑sufficiency for persons with disabilities in banking and finance and promote the construction of an accessible banking environment, the China Banking Association promulgated a self‑regulation agreement for further improving accessible banking services in 2013, a guidance document on self‑regulation in the implementation of accessible banking services in the Chinese banking industry in 2014, and a guidance document on building an accessible banking environment in 2018.

Article 13Access to justice

43.In 2017, the Ministry of Justice issued a guidance document on strengthening public legal services for persons with disabilities during the Thirteenth Five‑Year Plan, requiring coverage for all persons with disabilities under the public legal‑service network system by 2020.

44.China guarantees the protection of persons with disabilities at each stage of the legal process. The Guiding Opinions of the Supreme People’s Court on Comprehensively Promoting the Construction of Litigation Service Centres in the People’s Courts (2014) stipulate that qualified people’s courts may open up “green” (expedited) channels for persons with disabilities and serve them on a priority basis. The Opinions of the Supreme People’s Court on Further Carrying out Effective Judicial Work for the Convenience and Benefit of the People (2014) stipulate that judicial convenience services must be provided for persons with disabilities, and that accessible facilities must be provided for persons with disabilities to participate in court trials. During the 2015–2016 period alone, the national courts reduced, postponed or waived litigation fees in 7,597 cases involving persons with disabilities.

45.China has further improved the judicial assistance system for persons with disabilities. The Opinions of the Supreme People’s Court on Strengthening and Regulating the State Judicial Relief Work of the People’s Courts (2016) stipulate that if the victim in a criminal case suffers a significant reversal of living conditions as the result of having been seriously injured or severely disabled in the course of the crime, and is unable to obtain redress by reason of the perpetrator’s death or other incapacity to make compensation, the State must provide judicial assistance. A guidance document on a campaign to “deepen the promotion of national judicial assistance work” in procuratorial organs throughout the country, issued in 2018, also focuses on persons with disabilities as recipients of such assistance.

46.China trains judges, police and lawyers on respecting the rights of persons with disabilities. The Supreme People’s Court has held training courses on human rights for local criminal‑court judges, and the training system for prison police established in China includes content on the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. The Ministry of Public Security requires the personnel of public security organs at all levels to study relevant laws and regulations, including the Law on the Protection of Disabled Persons. Moreover, in 2017, under the guidance of the Legal Aid Centre of the Ministry of Justice, the Hubei Province Legal Aid Centre cooperated with the Wuhan University Law School in offering a demonstration training course on practical skills for legal aid to persons with disabilities, and in promoting that training model throughout the province and the country as a whole.

47.With regard to paragraphs 23 and 24 of the previous concluding observations, China has further improved the legal aid system for persons with disabilities. First, it has broadened the scope of supplementary legal aid for persons with disabilities to include such matters as labour protections and marriage and family. Second, China has relaxed the economic‑hardship standard for legal‑aid applications, with more low‑income persons with disabilities being covered by legal aid as a result. Third, many Chinese provinces and municipalities have opened remote video legal‑aid consultation services for the convenience of persons with disabilities.

48.From 2010 to 2017, China provided legal assistance to more than 496,000 persons with disabilities. From 2013 to 2017, legal aid agencies organized more than 1.41 million legal counselling sessions for persons with disabilities. By the end of 2017, China had set up more than 2,600 legal aid workstations and more than 2,500 customer‑service windows for legal assistance, of which more than 2,000 are accessible to persons with disabilities. Units of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation at all levels have set up 1,746 legal aid workstations for persons with disabilities as a supplement to Government legal aid agencies.

Article 14Liberty and security of person

49.Amendment (VI) to the Criminal Law (2006) stipulates the crime of organizing persons with disabilities and children to beg. From 2011 to 2017, 16 cases of such crimes adjudicated by courts throughout the country.

50.With regard to paragraphs 25 and 26 of the previous concluding observations, the Mental Health Law (2012) ensures that citizens not needing hospitalization are not compulsorily committed owing to systemic or procedural errors. Under the Law, no organization or individual may unlawfully restrict the personal freedom of patients with mental impairments; hospitalization for such disorders is done in accordance with the principle of voluntariness. The Law also stipulates compensation liability for unlawfully restricting the personal freedom of patients with mental impairments and for deliberately committing non‑mentally impaired patients to medical institutions for treatment as mentally impaired.

51.China ensures that qualified persons of employment age with mental and intellectual disabilities receive social support. In 2009, with the support of the fiscal organs of the central Government, China began implementing the “Sunshine” home day‑care project to provide services to persons with intellectual, psychiatric or severe physical disabilities. From 2012 to 2015, central‑Government fiscal organs invested one billion yuan to provide persons with disabilities with two million instances of care and support services in various forms, and 231,000 people with intellectual, psychiatric or severe physical disabilities received day‑care services in 2017.

Article 15Freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

52.China has signed and ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the prohibition of torture has been the consistent position of the Chinese Government. The Criminal Procedure Law (as amended in 2012) added the stipulation that no person is to be compelled to commit self‑incrimination, and further provides that “Confessions of criminal suspects or defendants extorted by torture or obtained by other illegal means, as well as witness or victim statements obtained by violence, threat, or other illegal means, shall be excluded.”

53.The Criminal Procedure Law (2012) stipulates that criminals sentenced to fixed‑term imprisonment or criminal detention who are incapable of looking after themselves may provisionally serve their sentences outside prison, if doing so does not present a danger to society.

54.With regard to paragraphs 27 and 28 of the previous concluding observations, China prohibits medical experiments conducted without the informed consent of persons with disabilities. According to the provisions of the Mental Health Law (2012), medical institutions should obtain the written consent of patients with mental impairments before carrying out experimental clinical treatment for mental disorders. The Measures for the Ethical Review of Biomedical Research Involving Humans (2016) require that biomedical research involving human beings strictly follow the informed consent procedure.

Article 16Freedom from exploitation, violence or abuse

55.China protects persons with disabilities from coerced labour. Amendment (VIII) to the Criminal Law (2011) increased the penalty for the crime of coerced labour and additionally criminalized assisting others in coercing labour.

56.China protects persons with disabilities from domestic violence. The Anti‑Domestic Violence Law (2015) explicitly prohibits domestic violence in any form, and provides special protections for persons with disabilities who suffer domestic violence.

57.China protects persons with disabilities from abuse. Amendment (IX) to the Criminal Law (2015) additionally provided that persons responsible for guardianship and care of persons with disabilities must be subject to criminal liability for maltreatment of persons with disabilities if the circumstances of such maltreatment are aggravated.

58.In response to paragraphs 29 and 30 of the previous concluding observations, regarding the abduction of children with mental disabilities, Amendment (IX) to the Criminal Law has increased the penalties for the purchase of abducted women and children, bringing such acts within the scope of criminal liability. The Opinions on Effectively Protecting the Lawful Rights and Interests of Disabled Persons in Procuratorial Work (2015) called for heavy punishment, in accordance with the law, for cases involving the forced labour of persons with mental disabilities and the abduction and sale of women and children with disabilities.

Article 17Protecting the integrity of the person

59.China protects the right of persons with disabilities to physical and mental integrity. According to the Population and Family Planning Law (as amended in 2015), with regard to reproductive autonomy, citizens, including persons with disabilities, independently choose contraceptive and birth‑control measures and enjoy the right of informed choice of contraceptive methods. According to the Maternal and Infant Health‑care Law (as amended in 2017), medical and health‑care institutions provide premarital health‑care services for citizens, including education on sexual‑health and reproductive knowledge. Chinese law ensures that persons with disabilities are not forcibly sterilized and that girls and women with disabilities are not forced to undergo abortions.

Article 18Liberty of movement and nationality

60.China provides equal protection for the birth registration rights of persons with disabilities. In accordance with the provisions of the relevant laws on household registration, the organs of public security perform the permanent household registration of newborn infants. No household registration has been denied on the grounds of disability.

61.China provides equal protection for the liberty of movement and the right to nationality of persons with disabilities. The entry and exit administration authorities safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese citizens entering and leaving the country in accordance with the law, and do not establish any additional conditions aimed at persons with disabilities. Foreigners, whether they have disabilities or not, have the right to enter and leave the country normally and to acquire and change Chinese nationality in accordance with the law. In 2018, `China established the National Immigration Administration.

62.China actively provides accommodative conditions for travelling persons with disabilities entering or exiting the country. Chinese citizens are required to provide fingerprints when applying for passports, but if they cannot do so owing to finger disability or other reasons, they may be exempted from the fingerprint requirement after confirmation by the passport processing agency. The frontier inspection authorities install special entry and exit channels to allow rapid Customs clearance for those requiring assistance, including persons with disabilities.

Article 19Living independently and being included in the community

63.The aforementioned guidance document on accelerating the process of promoting moderate prosperity for persons with disabilities, issued in 2015, also called for incorporation of the grass‑roots services network for persons with disabilities in the construction of community‑based urban and rural grass‑roots social‑management and public‑service platforms. Under the Urban and Rural Community Service System Construction Plan (2016–2020), China will focus on ensuring the community service needs of persons with disabilities. By 2017, 978 municipal districts and 2,039 counties and county‑level cities had implemented community rehabilitation services; 416,000 of the 463,000 community rehabilitation coordinators involved had received relevant training.

64.China provides a diversity of community services for persons with disabilities. The aforementioned “Sunshine” home day‑care project prioritizes financial aid for persons of employment age with intellectual, psychiatric or severe physical disabilities who are receiving urban or rural subsistence subsidies, have lost their source of livelihood and ability to support themselves, and whose household circumstances are difficult. China will complete the following tasks under the Thirteenth Five‑Year Plan and its supporting implementation programmes during the 2016–2020 period: develop family‑based and community‑supported care services for persons with disabilities; strengthen community rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities; improve training courses for community‑employment guidance instructors; promote integration of the culture of and sports activities for persons with disabilities into the community.

65.The Implementation Plan for Capacity Building of Comprehensive Services for People with Disabilities at the Grass‑roots Level during the Thirteenth Five‑Year Plan (2016–2020) explicitly requires qualified communities to actively conduct pilot projects related to independent‑living centres for people with disabilities.

66.China encourages organizations of all kinds to take measures to support the integration of persons with disabilities into the community. For example, the Lizhi Rehabilitation Centre in Beijing and the Sunshine Home in Ziyang Street, Wuhan City, Hubei Province provide autonomous‑living services and support for persons of employment age with intellectual or psychiatric disabilities, including training in the skills needed for living in the community, vocational rehabilitation and independent living.

67.With regard to paragraph 32 of the previous concluding observations, China promotes scientific awareness of leprosy among the public, early detection of the disease, and elimination of discrimination against it through such activities as World Leprosy Day and its corresponding commemoration in China. It has also included leprosy patients as key recipients of contracted family‑doctor services to effectively address the issues of discrimination and other difficulties for leprosy patients seeking medical treatment.

Article 20Personal mobility

68.China encourages research and development on and production of assistive devices for persons with disabilities. In 2016, the State Council drafted Several Opinions on Accelerating the Development of the Assistive Device Industry, and the Ministry of Finance and other Government departments issued a Circular on Enterprise Income Tax Exemption for Enterprises Producing and Assembling Specialized Appliances for Disabled Persons (2016), exempting such enterprises from income taxation and reducing the production cost of specialized articles for persons with disabilities.

69.From 2011 to 2015, China provided more than 6 million assistive devices for persons with disabilities and provided nearly 10,000 instances of training for assistive‑services professionals. In 2017, 2.444 million persons with disabilities received fitting and adaptation services for such assistive devices as white canes, vision‑assistive devices, and prosthetic limbs. As of June 2018, governmental subsidy systems for the purchase of assistive devices for persons with disabilities had been established in eight provinces, regions and municipalities in China.

70.China conducts international cooperation in the field of assistive devices, promoting the WHO Priority Assistive Products List and initiating research on some product standards to provide the Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology (GATE) Programme with practical support. Ten consecutive Care & Rehabilitation Expo China expositions have been held in China since 2007, and Global Conferences on the Development of Auxiliary Appliances Industry were held in China in 2015 and 2017.

71.China has taken other measures to ensure the mobility of individuals with disabilities. One such is the issuance of motor vehicle driving licenses to more than 80,000 people with disabilities in China. Another is the requirement in the Measures for the Administration of Air Transport for the Disabled (2015) for carriers, airports and airport ground services agents to provide, free of charge, the mobility‑assistance equipment needed by eligible persons with disabilities for boarding and disembarking from the aircraft. Third, a set number of special tickets are reserved for passengers with disabilities on every train. Fourth, blind people can ride urban public transport free of charge nationwide; in some parts of the country, all persons with disabilities can do so. Fifth, China has actively developed taxi booking via the Internet and telephone to make it easier for people with disabilities to take taxicabs.

Article 21Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information

72.The Outline of the National Informatization Development Strategy (2016) explicitly called for accelerating the implementation of barrier‑free access to information on Government websites, and encouraged society to provide personalized information services for persons with disabilities. The Outline for National Informatization during the Thirteenth Five‑Year Plan (2016) called for the construction of an information service system for persons with disabilities.

73.China is promoting the accessibility of Government and public‑services websites. In 2013, China launched the “Beautiful China” public‑benefit action programme to implement accessibility in the information systems of people’s governments at or above the district and county levels without charge. Accessibility implementation was consecutively included in the annual performance criteria for Government websites in 2013 and 2014, with evaluations of 118 Government websites conducted by relevant testing organs and teams of experts on the blind. By January 2018, more than 500 Government units had completed the implementation of barrier‑free public‑service information platforms, bringing accessibility to more than 30,000 government‑affairs and public‑service websites and direct benefits to the people in more than 100 million instances.

74.China encourages and promotes the use of sign language and Braille. First, China is committed to standardizing and promoting sign language and Braille at the national level; and has integrated them into the overall scope of national language and script work under the national medium‑ and long‑term plans for language and script reform and development during the 2012–2020 period and for language and script development during the Thirteenth Five‑Year Plan. Since 2015, China has been implementing a national action plan for standardizing Chinese sign language and Braille during the 2015–2020 period, and, in 2018, formally promulgated and implemented a national lexicon of common expressions in Chinese sign language for general use and a national programme for the general use of Chinese Braille. Second, China encourages the use of sign language to accompany television broadcasting, with State and qualified provincial television stations being required to test a Chinese sign‑language component in their broadcasts, and television stations at and above the prefectural level required to use Chinese sign language in all their sign‑language news broadcasts. Third, service providers in the judicial, medical, transportation, banking, commerce, tourism and other areas of the public‑service sector provide services in Chinese sign language. Chinese Braille is used for applicable signage in public places and facilities.

75.China is developing multimedia audiobooks and digital content products to ensure modern means of access to information for persons with disabilities. Since 2012, it has encouraged and supported traditional press and publishing units to accelerate the digitization of traditional content and develop digital‑content products, support digital‑content dissemination platforms and foster audio‑reader operating enterprises. In 2017, China launched a digital reading promotion project, providing digital audiobooks, electronic Braille and customized, sustainable knowledge and cultural services for the blind.

76.China promotes the study and drafting of standards for information accessibility, including technical requirements for screen‑reading software, technical requirements for Internet information‑service assistance systems for the blind, office‑equipment accessibility guidelines for older persons and persons with disabilities, and guidelines for the design of information‑technology icons and symbols accessible to all users including older persons and persons with disabilities. Standards currently being formulated include technical requirements and evaluation methods for accessibility of Internet information‑technology content, digital publication formats for the blind, technical requirements and testing methods for mobile terminal accessibility, and multimedia information‑technology processing requirements for visually impaired persons.

77.“12385” service hotlines and online complaint systems have been set up in 338 Chinese cities to ease access to information services and respond to the needs of persons with disabilities.

Article 22Respect for privacy

78.Both the Mental Health Law (2012) and the Regulations on Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation for Persons with Disabilities (2017) contain provisions for protecting the privacy of persons with disabilities.

79.National legislation and judicature have strengthened the protection of personal information. The General Provisions of the Civil Law (2017) stipulate the legal protection of personal information. Amendment (IX) to the Criminal Law (2015) revises and improves the definition of the crime of infringement of citizens’ personal information. In 2017, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate published descriptive accounts of seven typical cases involving such crimes. From 2011 to 2017, 2,822 cases of infringement of citizens’ personal information were settled by the courts.

80.China requires medical, health and public‑health institutions of all types and at all levels to effectively protect the health‑information privacy and data security of all citizens, including persons with disabilities.

Article 23Respect for home and the family

81.China continues to improve the support system for families with children with disabilities. The National Population Development Plan (2016–2030) calls for an increase in support for families of persons with disabilities. According to a guidance document on a five‑year plan for guiding and promoting family education from 2016 to 2020, China will strengthen home‑education support services for children with special difficulties, provide regularized and professionalized family‑support as well as the referral services needed for children with disabilities, and reinforce the responsibilities of parents as the primary guardians of children.

82.China has launched the “Tomorrow Plan” for surgeries and post‑operative rehabilitation for orphans with disabilities. As of June 2018, nearly 125,000 orphans with disabilities and abandoned infants requiring surgery had undergone the corrective treatments and rehabilitation training they needed.

83.With regard to paragraphs 33 and 34 of the previous concluding observations, please see paragraph 59 of the present report.

Article 24Education

84.In response to paragraphs 35 and 36 of the previous concluding observations, and in accordance with the concept of inclusive education advocated by the Convention, China amended the Regulations on the Education of Persons with Disabilities in 2017 to explicitly propose that “inclusive education shall be actively promoted”. To ensure that persons with disabilities are not excluded from the general education system because of their disabilities, the Regulations stipulate that preschool educational institutions, schools of all types and at all levels, and other educational institutions must not refuse admission to persons with disabilities who meet the requirements of laws and regulations.

85.China is continuously expanding the scale of preschool education for children with disabilities. Under a guidance document on establishing a financial aid system for pre‑school education, issued in 2011, pre‑school education for children with disabilities was incorporated into the scope of early‑childhood financial aid. The Working Rules for Kindergartens (as amended in 2016) explicitly stipulate that ordinary kindergartens accept children with disabilities, and require kindergartens around the country to provide more help and guidance for children with disabilities. In 2016, more than 30,000 children with disabilities in kindergartens throughout the country received special financial aid. From 2011 to 2017, a total of 240 million yuan was invested in the lottery‑based public‑welfare student‑assistance programme for persons with disabilities, providing 87,000 instances of financial aid for economically‑disadvantaged children with disabilities to enjoy inclusive preschool education.

86.China has comprehensively raised the level of universalization of compulsory education for children and adolescents with disabilities, and implemented a plan to promote special education during the 2014–2016 period, in which the universalization of compulsory education for children and adolescents with disabilities was the absolute top priority. The plan guided localities in implementing the “one child, one file” approach to individualized education, and strove to ensure that school‑age children and adolescents with disabilities received compulsory education, whether by attendance at regular schools, attendance at special schools, or by “home delivery” teaching. By the end of 2016, the compulsory‑education enrolment rate for children and adolescents with visual, hearing and mental disabilities had reached more than 90 per cent, and educational opportunities for other persons with disabilities had increased significantly. Beginning in the fall term of 2016, China was providing twelve years of free education, covering the senior secondary‑school stage in addition to the nine‑year compulsory‑education period, to economically‑disadvantaged students with disabilities. The Regulations on the Education of Persons with Disabilities (2017) stipulate that children and adolescents with disabilities must receive compulsory education in nearby regular schools as a matter of priority, thus providing further legal guarantees of the right of children and adolescents with disabilities to receive compulsory education. In 2017, China deployed a compulsory‑education enrolment programme requiring pre‑school registration of children and adolescents with disabilities of compulsory‑education age, comprehensive analyses of their numbers and disabilities, and the formulation of educational placement arrangements in accordance with the “full coverage, zero rejection” requirement and the actual situations of children with disabilities, to be carried out on an individualized basis. In the same year, China launched and implemented a plan for the second stage of special‑education promotion during the 2017–2020 period.

87.In 2016, the Ministry of Education issued a set of systematic learning standards drafted specifically for students with disabilities in compulsory education, requiring localities to guide teachers in following the students’ physical and mental characteristics and patterns of educational development, and adjusting their teaching forms and methods accordingly. It also required localities to actively guide schools in promoting reform of teaching evaluation, focusing on process, paying attention to development, respecting differences, and diversifying assessment methods. In 2017, in accordance with these learning standards, the Ministry of Education compiled and completed an initial 22‑volume batch of teaching materials in subjects for the beginning grades dealing with blindness, deafness and intellectual development, and put them into use nationwide. The compilation of subsequent teaching materials is progressing systematically.

88.In order to open channels of access to higher education for persons with disabilities, an interim guidance document on administrative regulations for the participation of persons with disabilities in the unified national examination for admission to regular institutions of higher education, issued in 2015, stipulated for the first time that the relevant accommodations should be extended to allow examination candidates with disabilities to participate in the General College Entrance Examination on an equal footing at the national level. In 2017, in accordance with provisions of the subsequent guidance document on the participation of persons with disabilities in that examination, special measures were taken to provide reasonable accommodation for candidates with disabilities, including, for example, the use of Braille and large‑text versions of the examination papers for candidates with visual disabilities.

89.With a view to developing vocational education for persons with disabilities, the Regulations on Education for Persons with Disabilities (2017) include specific provisions on the conduct of education. A guidance document on accelerating the development of vocational education for persons with disabilities, issued in 2018, addressed ways to expand vocational education opportunities for persons with disabilities, improve operating conditions for schools, raise the quality of education and strengthen employment guidance and services.

90.There has been steady progress in building a contingent of education professionals for persons with disabilities. As of June 2018, special‑education major programmes with a total enrolment of more than 10,000 students had been established in 64 general undergraduate colleges and universities in China, and were producing large numbers of highly‑qualified specialists in the practice, theoretical study and administration of education for persons with disabilities.

91.The Regulations on the Education of Persons with Disabilities (2017) required that a committee of experts on the education of persons with disabilities should be established.

Article 25Health

92.By 2017, China was providing 14 types of basic public health services free of charge to all citizens, including persons with disabilities. The standard financial subsidy for basic public‑health services increased from 15 yuan per capita in 2009 to 50 yuan per capita in 2017.

93.With a view to providing the special medical and health services required by persons with disabilities, China established a nursing subsidy system for persons with severe disabilities in 2015. A guidance document on medical services and safeguards for persons with severe disabilities, issued in 2016, calls for further improvements in medical services and security mechanisms for persons with severe disabilities, and a guidance document on promoting contracted family doctor services, issued the same year, calls for priority coverage of persons with disabilities and other key groups for contracted family doctor services. Guidance documents on the satisfactory provision of contracted family‑doctor services for persons with disabilities, issued in 2017 and 2018, required that persons with disabilities be assigned priority as a group in establishing such contracts and encouraged qualified districts to integrate basic rehabilitation services within the scope of personalized contracts. In 2016, 20 additional categories of medical rehabilitation were brought into the scope of basic medical insurance payments, including wheelchair skills training, occupational therapy training for persons with mental impairments, and language training for children with hearing impairments. In 2017, the rate of basic medical‑insurance coverage for urban and rural residents with disabilities reached 96.5 per cent.

94.Disability‑prevention work continues to improve in China. In 2013 and 2014, pilot disability‑screening programmes for children aged 0–6 years were launched in five provinces, regions and municipalities including Beijing, focusing on children with impaired vision and hearing, physical and intellectual handicaps and autism, in order to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment. A national action plan for disability prevention during the 2016–2020 period was issued in 2016. As of 2016, free folic acid supplements had been provided to a total of 80.91 million rural women of child‑bearing age in China, free thalassemia screening services had been provided to 978,000 couples, and 4.69 million newborns had undergone free screening for congenital diseases. In 2017, screening of children aged 0–6 years for early diagnosis and treatment of five types of psychological and behavioural disabilities was included in the scope of basic national public health services. In 2017, the 25th of August each year was designated as “Disability Prevention Day” in China.

95.China emphasizes the provision of medical and health services to persons with disabilities in rural areas. A guidance document on the implementation of health and poverty‑alleviation projects, issued in 2016, brought qualified medical rehabilitation projects for persons with disabilities within the scope of basic medical insurance payments in accordance with regulations, so as to raise the level of medical security for poor persons with disabilities in rural areas. A guidance document on the “Three‑in‑One” action plan for health and poverty‑alleviation projects, issued in 2017, required that medical treatments for persons with disabilities in poverty be carried out according to established categories and groups. A guidance document on implementing programmes to resolve the difficulties of families impoverished by disability, issued in 2018, required expanding the scope of medical‑treatment guarantees for persons with severe disabilities in registered and identified poor families.

96.China has improved the accessibility of medical facilities. A guidance document on safety requirements for patient activity areas and places for them to sit or recline in medical institutions, issued in 2014, set out requirements for accessible structural design in medical institutions.

97.With regard to paragraph 38 of the previous concluding observations, China attaches importance to building a community mental‑disorder rehabilitation service system, and will have laid the foundation for a “socialized, comprehensive and open” community mental‑disorder rehabilitation service system by 2025.

Article 26Habilitation and rehabilitation

98.The Regulations on Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation for Persons with Disabilities (2017) stipulate that the State must take measures to provide basic rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities. In 2017, 8.547 million children with disabilities and holders of Disability Certificates received basic rehabilitation services, and the coverage rate of rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities reached 65.6 per cent.

99.With regard to paragraphs 39 and 40 of the previous concluding observations, China ensures that rehabilitation programmes are formulated with the informed consent of individuals with disabilities. The Regulations on Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation for Persons with Disabilities (2017) stipulate that in formulating and implementing rehabilitation programmes, the opinions of persons with disabilities and their families must be fully heard and respected, and that they must be provided detailed information on rehabilitation measures.

100.China emphasizes the training of rehabilitation professionals, and included the training of rehabilitation therapists in a programme to remedy the shortage of qualified personnel in connection with medical reforms under the 12th Five‑Year Plan. In 2014, China formulated and issued a trial training outline for rehabilitation therapy professionals, which guided all localities in satisfactorily training such personnel.

Article 27Work and employment

101.A guidance document on the promotion of employment for persons with disabilities under the Thirteenth Five‑Year Plan (2016–2020) proposes the objective of satisfactorily encouraging, training and providing assistance to persons with disabilities seeking employment. In 2017, 355,000 new jobs were created for urban and rural Disability Certificates holders, employing an additional 131,000 urban residents and 224,000 rural residents.

102.With regard to paragraph 41 of the previous concluding observations, China has codified the use of employment guarantees for persons with disabilities. The Regulations on the Administration of Collection and Use of the Employment Security Fund for the Disabled (2015) contains specific provisions on how the Fund may be used, including expenditures on vocational training, education and rehabilitation for persons with disabilities. A guidance document on preferential value‑added tax policies, issued in 2016, also cites the use of preferential tax policies to promote the employment of persons with disabilities.

103.With regard to paragraph 42 of the previous concluding observations, China promotes the employment of persons with disabilities in various forms. In 2017, 1.189 million persons with disabilities were employed in their own homes, 80,000 were employed in their local communities, and 1.458 million worked in flexible employment. In view of the difficulty of employing persons with intellectual impairments, psychiatric disorders, or severe physical disabilities, China promoted the concept of supported employment, resulting in the employment of some 143,000 persons with disabilities through supported‑employment channels by the end of 2017. China will also increase support for new jobs suitable for persons with disabilities, such as “Internet+” employment, home employment, community employment, flexible employment and so on, and will actively explore supporting employment for intellectually‑impaired and psychiatrically-handicapped persons.

104.A guidance document on promoting employment of persons with disabilities through Government procurement policies, issued in 2017, specifies that agencies providing supported employment for persons with disabilities must enjoy Government procurement support. A guidance document on self‑employment and entrepreneurship for persons with disabilities, issued in 2018, specifies preferential administrative, fiscal, taxation and financial measures to support their self‑employment and entrepreneurship.

105.China actively ensures access to vocational skills training for persons with disabilities. A guidance document on promoting employment for persons with disabilities through vocational training, issued in 2012, calls for vocational‑skills training for persons with disabilities who are able to work and wish to be trained, and for eligible persons with disabilities to be included in the scope of special employment‑fund subsidies.

106.The China Disabled Persons’ Federation has established 500 vocational training bases for persons with disabilities at the national level, training 625,000 persons with disabilities in urban and rural areas in 2017. There are about 350 vocational training bases for persons with disabilities at the provincial level.

107.Since 2010, China has improved its urban and rural employment‑services networks for persons with disabilities, establishing institutions focusing on employment services for persons with disabilities at the provincial, municipal and county levels and providing special employment services such as policy advice, job‑search registration, employment introductions and vocational training. By the end of 2017, there were nearly 3,000 employment‑services organs for persons with disabilities, with 15,000 people on staff.

108.China actively protects the rights of persons with work‑related disabilities. The Regulations on Work‑Related Injury Insurance (2011) stipulate that following assessment of the grade of disablement they have sustained, workers suffering work‑related injuries must receive a commensurate one‑time injury‑disability subsidy; those having suffered disablements of grades I to VI may receive monthly disability allowances to ensure that the basic living needs of workers with disabilities are met. The Measures for the Administration of the Allocation of Assistive Devices Covered by Work‑Related Injury Insurance (2016) stipulate that workers with work‑related disabilities may apply for effective assistive devices.

Article 28Adequate standard of living and social protection

109.China has issued guidance documents outlining poverty alleviation and development for persons with disabilities in rural areas for the 2011–2020 period and setting up an action plan to tackle poverty alleviation for persons with disabilities in poverty for the 2016–2020 period.

110.China has supported the productivity development of nearly 13 million persons with disabilities since 2011; of these, 6.76 million were poor persons with disabilities who had been lifted out of poverty. Some 4.85 million instances of practical rural‑skills training were provided to poor people with disabilities; 7,111 poverty‑alleviation bases for persons with disabilities were set up around the country, placing 707,000 persons with disabilities in employment and providing support and impetus for 1.41 million households of persons with disabilities. China has also increased its financial‑investment funding, with central‑Government fiscal organs allocating 5.51 billion yuan in interest‑subsidized loans for rehabilitation and poverty alleviation from 2011 to 2016, benefiting 313,000 poor persons with disabilities.

111.China is raising the level of social assistance for persons with disabilities, bringing households of eligible persons with disabilities within the scope of subsistence subsidies; some 9.044 million persons with disabilities in urban and rural areas were enjoying such subsidies by the end of March 2018. Following the issuance in 2016 of a State Council guidance document on further improving assistance and support systems for the extremely poor, nearly 900,000 persons with disabilities have been brought into the scope of those systems. China has brought eligible poor persons with disabilities into the scope of medical‑care assistance, subsidized their participation in basic medical insurance, and subsidized individuals who are unable to pay for standard medical expenses after payment of basic medical insurance, major illness insurance and other supplementary medical‑care insurance. In 2017, China provided 91.381 million instances of such medical‑care assistance, including for poor persons with disabilities.

112.China is improving the basic welfare system for persons with disabilities. In accordance with the Opinions on Establishing a Full Scale System of Living Subsidies for Disabled Persons with Financial Difficulties and Nursing Subsidies for Severely Disabled Persons (2015), China decided to establish a comprehensive living‑subsidy system for persons with disabilities and a nursing‑care subsidy system for persons with severe disabilities. These were the first special welfare subsidy systems for persons with disabilities to be established at the national level, with more than 20 billion yuan in subsidies granted in 2017.

113.China ensures that persons with disabilities in urban and rural areas universally enjoy basic old‑age pension insurance. Under a guidance document on further improving the participation of persons with disabilities in basic old‑age pension insurance for urban and rural residents, issued by the China Disabled Persons’ Federation in 2017, and on the basis of financial‑aid policies for poor persons and persons with severe disabilities, the scope of Government‑paid old‑age pension insurance has been expanded to include registered and identified persons with disabilities in poverty, recipients of subsistence subsidies, and persons with disabilities among those in extreme poverty. By the end of 2017, the number of urban and rural residents with disabilities participating in social old‑age pension insurance had reached 26.147 million. Of persons with disabilities under the age of 60 participating in insurance, 5.472 million had severe disabilities and 5.295 million of those were receiving Government insurance assistance, bringing the proportion of persons having old‑age pension‑insurance premiums paid on their behalf to 96.8 per cent. A further 2.829 million persons with non-severe disabilities also enjoyed full or partial payment of their old‑age pension‑insurance premiums under the preferential policy, with the overall number of recipients of such payments reaching 10.423 million.

114.China gives priority to ensuring basic housing for the families of poor persons with disabilities. The Measures for the Administration of Public Rental Housing (2012) explicitly require that priority be given to arranging such housing for eligible persons with disabilities. By the end of 2017, 580,000 persons with disabilities were enjoying guaranteed public rental housing. From 2010 to the end of 2017, central‑Government fiscal organs had provided support to 2.578 million poor rural families of persons with disabilities for the renovation of dangerously‑dilapidated housing. In 2017, central‑Government fiscal organs began consolidating support for such renovations into four key recipient categories, including poor families with family members with disabilities in rural areas, with a standard subsidy of 14,000 yuan per household.

Article 29Participation in political and public life

115.China ensures the equal participation of persons with disabilities in political and public life. Among deputies to People’s Congresses and members of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference committees at or above the county level in 2018, there were more than 5,000 persons with disabilities, their relatives and friends, and persons working with persons with disabilities.

116.China guarantees the equal rights of persons with disabilities to hold public office. A guidance document on promoting the proportional employment of persons with disabilities, issued in 2013, explicitly requires Party and Government organs, Government‑affiliated institutions and State‑owned enterprises to take the lead in arranging employment for persons with disabilities.

117.Each year, before the recruitment examinations for agencies and departments of the central Government are held, the State Administration of Civil Service will mobilize the agencies and departments that are recruiting to come up with plans for employment positions suitable for persons with disabilities, to be used in recruiting persons with disabilities. It will require all departments to treat candidates with disabilities fairly in all respects, and to ensure that candidates with disabilities who meet the examination requirements take part in the examination. The competent civil‑service departments at all levels must conscientiously supervise the interviews and physical examinations conducted by the agencies and departments recruiting. Reasonable accommodation will be provided to candidates with disabilities during the Civil Service Recruitment Examination in accordance with their individual needs.

118.China supports the development of social organizations assisting persons with disabilities. In 2014, the China Disabled Persons’ Federation and the Ministry of Civil Affairs jointly issued a guidance document on promoting the development of such social organizations. The Opinion on the Reform of the Social Organization Management System and Promotion of the Healthy and Well‑Ordered Development of Social Organizations (2016) lowered the access threshold for social organizations, supported community social organizations in undertaking public services and functions entrusted to them by governments at the grass‑roots level in their communities, and upgraded the state’s preferential tax policies for social organizations assisting persons with disabilities.

119.Since 2012, central‑Government fiscal organs have allocated 200 million yuan in special funding annually to support the participation of social organizations in social services, one of the key areas among which are social services for persons with disabilities.

120.The number of social organizations assisting persons with disabilities in China has increased rapidly. The Ministry of Civil Affairs registered seven such organizations at the national level between August 2010 and the end of 2017, including five national social organizations and two private non‑enterprise units. By the end of 2017, local civil‑affairs departments had registered more than 6,200 social organizations assisting persons with disabilities, including more than 1,500 social organizations and 4,600 private non‑enterprise units, and about 100 foundations.

121.In response to paragraphs 45 and 46 of the previous concluding observations, all Chinese citizens over the age of 18 have equal rights to vote and stand for election. Through the Regulations on Barrier‑Free Environment Construction (2012), China has actively created the conditions to guarantee the exercise of those rights by persons with disabilities.

Article 30Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport

122.The Public Cultural Services Guarantee Law (2016) stipulates that the people’s governments at all levels are to provide public cultural services commensurate with the characteristics and needs of groups of persons with disabilities.

123.China continues to implement cultural services for persons with disabilities. During the period from 2011 to 2017, central‑Government fiscal organs invested more than 12 million yuan to implement community‑based cultural projects for persons with disabilities in 1,200 urban communities, and set up “Disabled People’s Bookshelves” for grass‑roots communities. It has included books for persons with disabilities in its procurement list of titles for the rural “Farmhouse Bookstore” project, and has launched the “Five Ones Project”, a programme to bring culture into the home, supporting 100,000 poor households of persons with severe disabilities in the central and western regions and rural areas of the country to read one book, see one film, visit one garden, visit one exhibition and participate in one cultural event every year.

124.China has organized three demonstration volunteer cultural‑service activities, such as the “Spring Rain Project”, to enable volunteers to provide their services to persons with disabilities.

125.In order to encourage persons with disabilities to develop their artistic potential, the Opinions on Extensively Strengthening and Improving Aesthetic Education in Schools (2015) proposed that the interests and specialties of students with disabilities should be fostered with a focus on developing their potential, and their artistic and vocational skills should be combined organically in accordance with their physical and mental development levels and characteristics, so as to lay a foundation for their integration into society.

126.In order to promote the development of the arts for persons with disabilities, China organizes cultural activities such as Persons with Disabilities Cultural Weeks. In the three years since it was launched to publicize the cause of persons with disabilities, over 170,000 people have attended the “Sharing Fragrance” public‑benefit touring exhibition. There are 281 arts organizations of all kinds for persons with disabilities in China, and over 100,000 people with disabilities participate directly or indirectly in the National Disabled Persons Art Festival each year. The Chinese Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe has visited 100 countries and regions for exchanges and performances, and blind children’s choruses took part in the 7th and 8th China Children’s Choir Festivals in 2016 and 2017. By the end of 2017, more than 170 students with disabilities had been given advanced study and research training as intangible cultural heritage inheritors. Students with disabilities participate in each activity of the national art exhibition for primary and secondary school students held by the Ministry of Education every three years.

127.China encourages the publication of books, newspapers and periodicals for persons with disabilities. At present, related serial publications in China include Disability in China, Disability Research, the Chinese Journal of Rehabilitation Theory and Practice, the Chinese Scientific Journal of Hearing and Speech Rehabilitation, the Monthly Journal of the Blind and Literature for Blind Children (published in Braille). The China Braille Publishing House had published 562 Braille titles by 2017.

128.By the end of 2017, 959 reading rooms for Braille and Braille audiobooks had been set up in public libraries at all levels nationwide. Implementation of the General Specification of Library Services for the Visually Impaired national standard began in 2018, and China expects to complete the compilation of guidelines on public‑library services for the deaf and standards for public‑library services for persons with reading and writing disabilities in 2019.

129.The Regulation on the Protection of the Right to Communicate Works to the Public over Information Networks (as revised in 2013) stipulates that published written works can be provided in a form uniquely perceptible to the blind without a profit motive, without the permission of the copyright owner and without payment of remuneration.

130.The National Physical Fitness Programmes promulgated for the 2011–2015 and 2016–2020 periods included broad promotion of physical culture for the rehabilitation and fitness of persons with disabilities. There were 9,053 venues for cultural and sport activities for persons with disabilities in localities throughout the country by 2017.

131.China has piloted a family‑care service model for rehabilitation sport for persons with disabilities since 2014. Small‑scale rehabilitation‑sports equipment, guidance methodologies and services have been provided to the households of persons with severe disabilities, and rehabilitation‑sport training camps have been held at the national level.

132.China encourages persons with disabilities to participate in physical‑fitness activities. In 2011, it launched a self‑improvement fitness project aimed at gradually improving the range and quality of sport‑fitness guidance services made available to persons with disabilities. Since 2011, the General Administration of Sport of China has supported the China Disabled Persons’ Federation in training social‑sports instructors for persons with disabilities, with special courses on fitness guidance for persons with disabilities being added to the general training of social‑sports instructors. More than 104,000 social‑sports instructors had been trained by the end of 2017.

133.China actively organizes and participates in special sporting events for persons with disabilities. In 2011 and 2015, China hosted the 8th and 9th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 6th National Special Olympics, adding easily‑popularized group events. By 2015, more than 1.2 million people had participated in the National Special Olympics. At the Rio Paralympic Games in 2016, China topped the gold and other medals count for the fourth consecutive time. China won a gold medal at the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, breaking its “medal‑less” performance streak in previous Paralympics. It has won the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games and the 2022 Winter Paralympic Games.

134.Newly‑built and renovated sport facilities in China strictly implement accessibility standards. In 2017, China issued the Public sports facilities – Safety requirements for outdoor fitness equipment (GB/T 34284‑2017) and Public sports facilities – Configuration and management of outdoor fitness equipments (GB/T 34290‑2017) national standards to guide the design of public sports and outdoor fitness facilities.

Part IIIWomen and children with disabilities

Article 6Women with disabilities

135.In formulating its laws, regulations and policies, China implements the promotion of equality between men and women as a matter of basic State policy. The newly enacted General Provisions of the Civil Law, the Anti‑Domestic Violence Law and the revised Special Rules on Labour Protection of Female Employees stipulate that women enjoy equal rights in civil activities, family life, employment and other fields, and give special protection to women with disabilities.

136.The Outline for the Development of Women in China (2011–2020) calls for improvements in the social status of women, along with efforts to bring about their comprehensive development in politics, economy, culture and society. It also covers the development rights of women with disabilities: in the health field, it calls for strengthened guidance and services for sports activities for women with disabilities; in the education field, it calls for financial aid for inclusive pre‑school education for girls with disabilities as well as for female students with disabilities at the senior secondary‑school and college levels; in the economic field, it calls for employment assistance for women with disabilities; and in the social‑security field, it calls for the provision of social security for women with disabilities as well as subsidized premiums for the participation of impoverished and women with severe disabilities in new rural cooperative medical care, basic medical insurance for urban residents, or new rural social old‑age pension insurance, thereby guaranteeing the basic livelihoods of poor women with disabilities through a variety of channels and promoting the rehabilitation of women with disabilities at the community level.

Article 7Children with disabilities

137.The Outline for the Development of Children in China (2011–2020) calls for all children to enjoy equal rights and opportunities, ensures that children are not discriminated against on the basis of their physical condition, and proposes that children’s views should be taken seriously and absorbed. The document sets commensurate goals and strategies for the protection of the rights of children with disabilities, such as reducing disabilities among children stemming from injuries, in the field of health, and guaranteeing compulsory education for children with disabilities, in the field of education. School enrolment of children with disabilities at the compulsory-education stage reached 482,000 in 2016, an increase of 15.9 per cent over 2010.

138.China has established a rehabilitation assistance system for children with disabilities, prioritizing the provision of such assistance in the form of salvage therapy and rehabilitation for children with disabilities in families receiving urban and rural subsistence subsidies and/or in registered and identified poor households, children with disabilities being cared for in children’s welfare institutions, orphans with disabilities, children with disabilities who fall within the support scope of the extremely impoverished, and children with disabilities in other economically‑disadvantaged households. In 2017, 141,000 children with disabilities aged 0–6 years received basic rehabilitation services.

139.China has launched a variety of public welfare projects to care for children in difficulty, and protects the rights of such children, including children with disabilities. The “Care‑Free Project” public‑welfare insurance programme for children provides guaranteed insurance reimbursement for major‑illness treatment and hospitalization expenses for 99,641 registered and identified exceptional children in poverty aged 0–14 years in poverty‑stricken mountainous areas of Yunnan Province. China continues to promote major childhood‑illness relief projects, providing assistance to more than 530 children with major illnesses such as cerebral palsy, amblyopia and impaired hearing. The “Kids+365 Project” of the China National Children’s Centre conducts free parent‑child activities for at least 365 children in difficulty and their families each year; in 2016, the event focused on families of children with mental and hearing disabilities, with a total of 391 such children and their families taking part in the activities.

140.With regard to paragraphs 13 and 14 of the previous concluding observations, the abandonment of children with disabilities constitutes a criminal offence. In addition, a guidance document on strengthening the protection of children in difficulty, issued in 2016, calls for the incorporation of child‑oriented services into the community public‑system.

Part IVSpecific obligations

Article 31Statistics and data collection

141.China is the first country in the world to establish a large real‑name database of persons with disabilities, which it began building in 2008. As of January 2018, the foundational database of the population of persons with disabilities in China had been extended to county‑level units nationwide, and had collected basic information on more than 34 million certified persons with disabilities.

142.Beginning in 2015, China launched a nationwide real‑name survey on the state of basic services for persons with disabilities and their needs, establishing a dynamic mechanism for updating information, obtaining information on services for and needs of Disability Certificate holders, and providing data support for the introduction of systems concerning persons with disabilities. This work has received a high degree of approval from third‑party assessment agencies and groups of persons with disabilities; based on a sample of return visits, 97.7 per cent of persons with disabilities surveyed expressed satisfaction, and 89 per cent of respondents with disabilities thought that it had been helpful to themselves or their families.

143.With regard to paragraphs 47 and 48 of the previous concluding observations, the bulk of the survey, monitoring and statistics data on persons with disabilities in China are made available to the public via bulletins, yearbooks and websites. The China Disabled Persons’ Federation publishes the China Statistical Yearbook on the Work for Disabled Persons each year. More than 20 national‑level statistical data sources, such as the China Statistical Yearbook,the China Development Report and the China Social Statistical Yearbook, also include the main data of persons with disabilities; additionally, the public can find data on persons with disabilities on the websites of governments at all levels and the Disabled Persons’ Federation.

Article 32International cooperation

144.China uses bilateral exchanges to conduct international cooperation in the field of persons with disabilities. In 2014, China and Germany incorporated cooperation in the field of disability policy into the Sino‑German Cooperation Platform for Action. The Sino‑Russian Council on Disability Issues was established in 2014. From 2015 to 2018, China and the United States jointly conducted four sessions of the Sino‑US Coordination Meeting on Disability. China has made donations to organizations of persons with disabilities in Canada, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Ethiopia, and Kenya. China has established regular exchange and dialogue mechanisms with Australia, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.

145.China promotes the inclusion of disability issues in the framework of relevant international cooperation mechanisms, such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Asia‑Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the Asia‑Europe Meeting, the China‑ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Expo and the Forum on China‑Africa Cooperation.

146.In 2012, China held an international forum on “Eliminating Obstacles, Promoting Integration”, which issued the Beijing Declaration on realizing the Millennium Development Goals and the post‑2015 strategy for disability‑inclusive development.

147.In 2014, discussions on the theme of persons with disabilities were held during the Leaders’ Week Meeting of the 22nd Asia‑Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in China. In 2015, the Chinese initiative to promote the participation of persons with disabilities in economic activities was formally incorporated into the cooperation framework of the forum. China became the first country to chair the APEC Group of Friends on Disability. China also hosted a training course on the participation of persons with disabilities in e‑commerce in 2016, within the China‑ASEAN and APEC framework.

148.In 2014, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang sponsored the inclusion of disability issues in the agenda of the 10th Asia‑Europe Meeting Summit. In 2015, the Asia‑Europe High‑Level Meeting on Disability & Global Conference on Assistive Devices and Technology was held in China. In the same year, China hosted the Asia‑Europe Meeting Disability Cooperation Event on the theme of “Breaking Barriers for Inclusive Development”.

149.In 2015, China hosted the first China‑ASEAN Disability Forum, on the theme of “Equal Access and Inclusive Development for the Disabled”.

150.In 2015, China actively promoted and worked together with African countries to include “[the two sides will] strengthen cooperation in the fields of rehabilitation, education, employment … for persons with disabilities, and carry out timely exchanges in the fields of service systems for persons with disabilities and policies of social security” in the Johannesburg Action Plan of the Forum on China‑Africa Cooperation.

151.In 2016, China promulgated its National Programme for Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, proposing implementation plans for promoting the development of people with disabilities in the fields of education, health and employment. China has set up an interministerial coordination mechanism for implementing the 2030 Agenda that includes the competent authorities for persons with disabilities, to promote the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals relevant to the field of disability.

152.In 2017, with a view to implementing the initiative, advanced by President Xi Jinping at the first summit of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, on “strengthening exchanges among … groups of persons with disabilities and promoting inclusive development”, China organized themed events in conjunction with the Belt and Road High‑Level Event on Disability Cooperation, including the Global Conference on Assistive Devices and Technology, the Beijing International Forum on Rehabilitation, the China Hearing and Speech Forum and the Care & Rehabilitation Expo China.

153.In 2015, China held a themed event on disability for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, along with a seminar entitled “Implementing the Incheon Strategy: Barrier‑free Construction”. In 2016, China pledged to donate US$5 million to Rehabilitation International over the four subsequent years, the bulk of which to be used to carry out disability assistance projects in such areas as rehabilitation, education, employment, and poverty alleviation in Africa and other developing countries, and to raise the work level of persons with disabilities in the regions where the projects are being implemented. In 2017, China and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) co‑sponsored a High‑level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Midpoint Review of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, which was held in Beijing. In 2018, a resolution entitled “Towards disability‑inclusive sustainable development: implementation of the Beijing Declaration, including the Action Plan to Accelerate the Implementation of the Incheon Strategy”, sponsored by China, was considered and adopted at the 74th Session of ESCAP. The resolution welcomed the outcome of the High‑level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Midpoint Review of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities (held in Beijing at the end of 2017), endorsed the Beijing Declaration and its Action Plan, called on the members of ESCAP to commit themselves to taking the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the sustainable development agenda into their overall consideration, and requested the Executive Secretary to support member States in implementing the Beijing Declaration and its Action Plan.

Article 33National implementation and monitoring

154.The main responsibilities of the Disabled Persons’ Work Committee of the State Council are to coordinate the formulation and implementation of guiding principles, policies, regulations and plans of the State Council with regard to persons with disabilities; to coordinate the resolution of major issues encountered in work concerning persons with disabilities; and to organize and coordinate the major activities of the United Nations in China with regard to persons with disabilities. The Committee is responsible for promoting the implementation of the Convention.

155.The Disabled Persons’ Work Committee of the State Council conducts special surveys throughout the country on the state of basic services for persons with disabilities and their needs, and has established a dynamic mechanism for updating data annually. The data obtained are used to monitor the implementation of the Convention.

156.In the process of compiling the report on its compliance with the Convention, China closely coordinated with Government departments and attached importance to ensuring the participation of civil society. It set up an interdepartmental working group comprising more than 30 Government departments, solicited the views of numerous organizations of persons with disabilities, and, as requested by the United Nations, sought opinions via the Internet regarding the report.