The China Teaching Web

I wish I could claim that the Chinese government read my recent post entitled What Chinese People Will Not Understand About Sarah Palin before they announced this week that they are going “to allocate 600 million yuan (about 87.7 million U.S dollars) to build 190 special schools for the disabled this year.” While I doubt that the Chinese government has much time to be reading this website, I do know that China has been under much international pressure to improve its treatment of disabled people. The pressure has intensified recently as Beijing’s hosting of the Paralympics is seen as ironic by many international observers considering the harsh environment that exists in China for disabled people.  This announcement from Beijing on Wednesday is certainly a step in the right direction as the government continues to push China down a road of intense development.

Hopefully, the Chinese government’s recent war on local corruption will allow this money to be used for its intended purpose. Eighty-seven million dollars in China can go a long way if the money is not squandered by local officials. Disabled people and their families in China need more assistance and it appears that Beijing is taking action. I hope that this is just the beginning.