PR94810

BEIJING, March 3, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Promoting sports for persons with disabilities has become an integral part of

China's drive to help the country's disabled. Hosting the 2022 Winter

Paralympic Games will create more opportunities for persons with disabilities

and enable them to realize their dreams, says Zhang Haidi, chairwoman of the

China Disabled Persons' Federation and head of the Beijing Winter Paralympics

Chinese delegation, in her exclusive article for Decision Makers. Decision

Makers is CGTN's global platform for influential leaders to share their

insights on events shaping today's world.

Zhang was an important member of Beijing's Bid Delegation for the 2022 Olympics

and Paralympics Games. According to her, the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games

greatly helped promote the development of the work on disability in China.

Since 2016 we have witnessed the continuous progress of China's winter

parasports, with the number of athletes increasing from less than 50 to over

1,000, covering all major events of the Winter Games.

To embrace the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games, Zhang says that China has made

full preparations, ranging from setting up a competitive winter Paralympic team

to building the National Ice Sports Arena for People with Disabilities and many

other new accessibility facilities.

As the host country for the 2022 Paralympic Games, China is determined to

promote the development of the work on disability, improve the overall level of

parasports, and encourage more people with disabilities to engage in sports.

It's worth mentioning that China was amongst the earliest countries that called

for developing a UN convention to safeguard the rights and interests of persons

with disabilities, and was among the first groups of countries to sign the UN

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Meanwhile, active

efforts have been made in promoting the inclusion of disability issues into the

2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

In short, Zhang says that the Paralympic Games play an important role in

protecting the rights and interests of people with disabilities, improving

their living conditions and raising social awareness. The success of the 2008

Beijing Paralympic Games paved the way for the host of the 2022 Winter

Paralympic Games to provide a stage for all people with disabilities to realize

their dreams and present their perseverance, determination, and possibilities

to the whole world.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-03-03/Beijing-Winter-Paralympic-Games-reflect-more-than-just-sports-184V8bTG5nq/index.html

SOURCE: CGTN

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=416333

   Caption: Beijing Winter Paralympic Games reflect more than just sports