Current trends in the development of the Chinese social security system for people with disabilities

• Author: LI Jing, LI Jianfei
• Pages: 4-20

FRONTIERS OF LAW IN CHINA

VOL. 11 MARCH 2016 NO. 1

DOI 10.3868/s050-005-016-0002-5

FOCUS

DISABILITY RIGHTS IN CHINA AND IN THE WORLD

CURRENT TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHINESE SOCIAL SECURITY

SYSTEM FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

LI Jing*, LI Jianfei**

Abstract The Law on the Protection of Disabled Persons is the first social security

legislation in China, with more than 50 laws directly related to the legal protection of the

rights of persons with disabilities and career development for people with disabilities. In

terms of employment protections for people with disabilities, it is important to focus

on effective legal implementation, utilizing legal rulings to limit employment

discrimination against people with disabilities. Educational protections are an important

precondition for enabling people with disabilities to live with dignity; it should be

guaranteed that people with disabilities are provided “reasonable accommodation” in

educational conditions. A barrier-free environment is a necessary condition for social

integration of people with disabilities. At the same time, it also benefits other members

of the society such as the elderly. Through rehabilitation and exercise, most people with

disabilities can return to the society to a significant degree. China should gradually

expand the legislative scope of rehabilitation service fee reductions and legal categories

of auxiliary appliances, issuing guiding documents that provide specifications for the

relevant “dormant” legal provisions.

Keywords people with disabilities, social security law, current trends, China

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................ 5

I. ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHINA’S SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM FOR PEOPLE WITH

DISABILITIES ............................................................................................................... 6

II. IMPROVING CHINA’S SOCIAL SECURITY LEGAL SYSTEM FOR PEOPLE WITH

DISABILITIES............................................................................................................... 9

A. Job Security for People with Disabilities................................................................9

* (󰐣󳐮) Ph.D candidate, at School of Law, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China. Contact:

ljsj@163.com

** (󳮣󳖳) Professor of Law, at School of Law, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China.

Contact: jf4757@163.com

Thanks Brown-Inz Amanda at Harvard Law School for helping in this article.

2016] THE CHINESE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES 5

B. Education Protections for People with Disabilities..............................................12

1. Ensuring Barrier-Free Environments for People with Disabilities....................16

2. Rehabilitation for People with Disabilities....................................................... 18

CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................... 19

INTRODUCTION

There are 85 million people with disabilities in China, the world’s largest population

of people with disabilities. The Law on the Protection of Disabled Persons is the

country’s first social security legislation, leading the way for the formulation of other

important social legislations. Currently, there are more than 50 laws relating directly to

the protection of the rights of people with disabilities.

The implementation of the Regulations on the Education of People with Disabilities,

the Regulations on the Employment of People with Disabilities and the Regulations on

the Construction of Barrier-Free Environments, along with the establishment of the

Regulations on Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation, produced clearer and more

specific social security provisions on rights of people with disabilities to education,

employment, rehabilitation and barrier-free environments.

At the same time, China has supported and conscientiously implemented the World

Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, and participated in the formulation of

the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.

China was among the first signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of

Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), and the protection of disabled persons is a

highlight of China’s human rights field, hailed by former United Nations (UN) Secretary

General Kofi Annan as a model for developing countries. At the 2014 Asia-Pacific

Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Beijing, China held a

special series of activities on “helping disabled people to share in the fruits of economic

and society development,” and have written an Appendix to the 22nd APEC Economic

Leaders’ Meeting on “the Problems of People with Disabilities.”

China values legislation as a method to protect the employment rights of people with

disabilities, but there have not yet been fundamental changes to the vulnerable status of

disabled persons in seeking employment, and discrimination in the course of seeking

employment still exists. Even after the implementation of the Regulations on the

Employment of People with Disabilities and the Disabled Persons’ Employment Security

Fund, there was still no substantial change in the employment rate for people with

disabilities. Therefore, we need to firmly establish the concept that there are only

positions that are not suitable for people with disabilities; there are not people with

disabilities who are not suitable for working. At the same time, we should put even

greater emphasis on the results of legal implementation, suppressing employment

discrimination against the disabled through adjudication and ensuring that existing

protection provisions are actually implemented. The highly criticized Disabled Persons’