In December 2023, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China released its report, "Continuing Challenges for People with Disabilities in the People's Republic of China."
The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) released this week a staff report on the situation of people with disabilities in China, saying that people with disabilities in China continue to face ongoing hardship,** with inadequate and difficult access to benefits, while social control policies such as hukou and the lack of effective anti-trafficking measures make certain groups of people with disabilities particularly vulnerable.
According to a staff study titled "Ongoing challenges faced by people with disabilities in the people's republic of China" released on Sunday (December 3), China's disability policy focuses on poverty alleviation and social welfare assistance for persons with disabilities with disability certificates, which is not in line with the United Nations The principle of autonomy in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Second, there is a lack of a coherent "disability rights model" in China's policies and legislation. In addition, dereliction of duty and corruption have undermined the effectiveness of public assistance programs, which, combined with China's top-down style of governance, has led to continued poverty and rights violations for people with disabilities.
The report also said that authorities estimate that there are 85 million people with disabilities in China, or 6 percent of the total population, well below the world average of 16 percent. Not only that, but only 37.8 million of them have been officially registered, and the reasons for the low registration rate may include the cost of an assessment by an officially designated body, the inability to contact the assessment body, concerns about stigma and discrimination, a lack of understanding of the ** policy, and the barriers faced by people with reduced mobility in the registration process.
Among other things, the CECC report says that the controlled China Disabled Persons' Federation dominates assistance to people with disabilities, with limited participation from groups of people with disabilities and civil society. In addition to being "guided" by the Disabled Persons' Federation, civil society groups for persons with disabilities are facing increasing political control and legal restrictions.
In addition, the report said, China's hukou system also makes it difficult for people with disabilities in rural areas to access health care, and more than 79 percent of people with disabilities in China are rural residents.
The report also singled out the inadequate emergency response for persons with disabilities during the pandemic, as well as the lack of provisions in Chinese law specifically to protect women with mental disabilities from abuses such as domestic violence and human trafficking.
Finally, the CECC report recommends that China** should not only increase the volume and type of aid, but also undertake meaningful policy and structural reforms to better comply with the international standards set out in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The CECC is an independent body established by legislation in October 2000 to monitor and report on the development of human rights and the rule of law in China. The current chair of the committee is Republican Rep. Chris Smith from New Jersey, and its co-chair is Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon.