Zhang Haidi, chairman of the China Disabled Persons' Federation: The construction of the Rehabilitation University is smooth, and most of the 530,000 square meters of buildings have been capped

The Information Office of the State Council held a press conference at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 29, 2021, inviting Zhang Haidi, deputy director of the Disabled Workers' Committee of the State Council and chairman of the China Disabled Persons' Federation, Zhou Changkui, deputy director of the State Council Disabled Workers' Committee and chairman of the China Disabled Persons' Federation, Zhan Chengfu, deputy director of the State Council Disabled Workers' Committee and vice minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and relevant responsible persons of the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security to introduce the achievements of the disabled and the main arrangements for the work of the disabled in the "14th Five-Year Plan", and answer reporters' questions. China.com live broadcast, the following is the transcript:

Hong Kong Bauhinia Magazine reporter: "The "14th Five-Year Plan" for the Protection and Development of the Disabled proposes to build a rehabilitation university with a high starting point, high level and internationalization. What is the current progress of the Rehabilitation University? How will the rehabilitation university play a role in improving the quality of rehabilitation services for the disabled after completion? Thank you.

Zhang Haidi: This is also my answer. In 2015, the China Disabled Persons' Federation proposed the concept of building a rehabilitation university, which is based on the understanding of the urgency of rehabilitation for the disabled, and is closely related to the problem I just said. Only when we understand and understand the suffering of the disabled can we know the importance of rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is also one of the ways to ultimately liberate the disabled, which is the most urgent need of the disabled. A person is disabled, and only when he recovers can there be new hope in life and a better standard of living. I have seen many parents of children with disabilities, and they say that we must also do rehabilitation for our children even if we smash pots and sell iron. I don't know how many tearful eyes I've seen over the years, but I really hope to be able to help more young parents. Some families have even done their best because of their children's disabilities, and some have even fallen into poverty. You can see our China Rehabilitation Research Center, in the courtyard, in the rehabilitation hall, there are many people in wheelchairs, there are many children holding on their backs, and there are many people waiting for recovery.

There is also the Beijing Massage Hospital, where hundreds of children recover every day, some are cerebral palsy, some are autistic children and so on. In the vast rural areas, there are still many disabled people who have not received rehabilitation services, and some disabled people even wear wooden prosthetics made at home and screw them with wire, and we have all seen such disabled people. When we saw him, we quickly helped him recover and helped him install the prosthesis, but what we didn't see was still there. It's sad to see this, but most importantly, we feel a great responsibility. In recent years, all provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have established rehabilitation institutions, but there is a shortage of rehabilitation professionals, which is an urgent problem. Although some universities have set up rehabilitation majors in recent years, from the perspective of development, it is also necessary to establish more standardized and high-standard rehabilitation disciplines, accelerate the training of more talents, lead the rehabilitation cause to a higher level and higher standards, and enable more disabled people to relieve pain, restore their functions, and create conditions for them to integrate into society.

In 2016, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed to strive to achieve the goal of "rehabilitation for all" for the disabled, which is really a very big goal and a task that we feel is very heavy. We are working towards that goal. The construction of rehabilitation universities has been highly valued by the leading comrades of the State Council and relevant departments, and has been included in the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" and the "Fourteenth Five-Year Plan", and a university has been included in the national plan for two consecutive times. The China Disabled Persons' Federation, the Ministry of Education, the National Health Commission, the National Development and Reform Commission, Shandong Province, Qingdao Municipality, etc. jointly promoted the establishment of leading groups and work classes, and completed the overall plan of school site selection, campus planning and preparation in accordance with the requirements of high starting point, high level and internationalization, as well as the formation of expert databases, discipline demonstration and other important work.

At present, the construction of the Rehabilitation University is very smooth, most of the 530,000 square meters of buildings have been capped, and the construction of the campus is expected to be completed by the end of this year. At the same time, in 2020, rehabilitation universities have joined hands with relevant universities to recruit the first batch of 26 doctoral students. It is the only university in the world dedicated to the rehabilitation of the disabled, and it embodies respect and love for life. This university will train rehabilitation doctors, assistive device engineers, etc., and will certainly be able to provide better services for the disabled and 44 million disabled and semi-disabled elderly people in China, so that more disabled people and family life can be worry-free. To promote the construction of rehabilitation universities, we must have the feelings of cooling after the trees planted by the predecessors, and we must stand in a higher realm of life to understand the universal significance of rehabilitation for people's happiness. The absence of physical pain is the basis of true happiness. I believe that in ten or twenty years, we will be able to see the important role that rehabilitation universities play for social progress. In the next step, we must actively work hard to do a good job in disciplines, the professional title promotion system, etc., and lay the foundation for the high-quality development of rehabilitation. Thank you.