From Epoch Times. (In the picture right, security police pass the National Stadium with dogs before the Beijing 2008 Paralmpic Games on September 4.)
Beijing has just spent a huge amount of money in hosting the 2008 Olympic Games. The 2008 Paralympics Games began last Saturday. Many public letters to
Paralympics officials and handicapped athletes have shown up on China’s unofficial Internet sites. There have also been disabled people organizations calling for demonstrations against the Paralympics Games on opening day.
Liu Chunbao, a disabled person from Liaoning Province in China recently published an open letter on the Internet. The letter stated that he had been appealing for government assistance because of his disabilities for over 30 years. Instead of his receiving assistance, he was repeatedly threatened by the Chinese government because of his appeals. In his letter, Liu lodged a strong complaint against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He said that the current rules and regulations on appealing is only to fool people. Liu also described the Security Administration Punishment Act as an abuse of power by the Chinese government. The law is used to oppress the Chinese people. Its system of labor camps is unconstitutional and represents government sanctioned abuse of human rights.
Liu said that China’s one-party dictatorship and autocratic rule have made a mockery of its Constitution and system of laws. The judicial system is corrupt with court cases often decided based on hidden government political agendas. Human rights for the average Chinese citizen are never guaranteed.
Yang Wen, a paraplegic from Xi’an, Sha’anxi Province of China, agreed to a telephone interview with Radio Free Asia. Yang said that although there are laws providing for assistance to disabled persons, the laws are not enforced. At present, there are many cases of discrimination committed against disabled people in China. Even the facilities for disabled people are insufficient to meet current demands.
An organization calling itself the “Underground Chinese Disabled People Federation” has issued an appeal calling for the disabled who have suffered discrimination to go to Tiananmen Square on the opening ceremony day of the 2008 Paralympics Games to demand their rights. The federation has also called for support from kind-hearted people from both within China and the international community.
China Disabled Persons’ Federation notes that there are over 80 million disabled people living in China today. Most disabled persons in China continue to face challenges because of their disabilities on a daily basis. There is a long history of prejudice against disabled persons in China and violations of the rights of the disabled happen frequently at present.
