Persons with disabilities are equal members of the human family. It is a bounden duty of the state and an essential requirement of socialism with Chinese characteristics to respect and protect their human rights and dignity, and to offer them equal opportunities to participate in social life and enjoy the fruits of the country's material and cultural progress on an equal footing.

China now has a population of 85 million persons with disabilities. Over the 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, and especially in the process of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government have always put the people first and provided care for the group with special difficulties. China respects the wishes of those with disabilities, protects their rights, attaches importance to their participation in social life, grants them real civil rights, and makes them participants in, contributors to, and beneficiaries of our social and economic development.