The Law on Protection of the Disabled was promulgated in 1990 and amended in 2008 and 2018 respectively. The latest revision entered into force on October 26, 2018.

There are 68 articles in total.

The key points are as follows:

1.A disabled person refers to a person who suffers from the loss or abnormity of a certain organ or function, psychologically, physiologically or in human structure, and has lost all or in part the ability to normally carry out certain activities.

2.Disabled persons shall enjoy equal rights with other citizens in political, economic, cultural, social, family life and other aspects. The citizen’s rights and personal dignity of disabled persons shall be protected by law. It shall be prohibited to discriminate against, insult and injure disabled persons and derogate the personal dignity of disabled persons through mass media or by other means.

3.The State shall provide disabled persons with special assistance by adopting supplementary methods and supportive measures so as to alleviate or eliminate the effects of their disabilities and external barriers and ensure the realization of their rights.

4.The supporters of disabled persons must perform their obligation to support the disabled person.

5.The State shall establish a sound mechanism for the prevention, early detection and early treatment of birth defects, and in view of such disability-causing factors as heredity, disease, medicine, accident, calamity and environmental pollution, organize and mobilize social forces to take measures to prevent the occurrence and reduce the degree of disability.

6.A state organ, social group, enterprise, public institution or private non-enterprise entity shall arrange employment of disabled persons in a prescribed proportion, and choose proper types of work and posts for them. If the prescribed proportion is not reached, it shall perform the obligation to ensure the employment of disabled persons under the relevant provisions of the state. The state shall encourage the entity employers to arrange employment of disabled persons in excess of the prescribed proportion.

7.The state and society shall take measures to gradually improve the barrier-free facilities, boost the barrier-free information communication, and create a barrier-free environment for disabled persons’ equal participation in the social life.