City to boost 'quality of life' services for disabled

Shanghai released a blueprint on Wednesday for a plan to improve the quality of life of the city's disabled.

To be implemented through to 2025, it includes subsidies for jobless and seriously handicapped residents to be raised more than 70 percent and for all disabled people to be eligible for basic medical or senior care insurance.

About 222,000 people with severe disabilities will be included in the local nursing subsidy system and the per capita housing space for the disabled will amount to 36.6 square meters by the end of 2025.

The per capita disposable income of the disabled will grow significantly and the enrollment rate of disabled children for compulsory education will reach above 99 percent, according to the blueprint.

The registered jobless rate of the disabled will be cut to below 4.5 percent and the employment rate of disabled university graduates will be above 95 percent.

A total of 252 barrier-free movie screening venues for the disabled will be established across the city, benefiting about 20,000 people who are visually impaired. 

Barrier-free renovations will be done at 1,000 households with disabled family members in the city's countryside through 2025.

Parks, tourist attractions, and cultural and sports venues will be encouraged to offer free admission or discounted tickets to the disabled, according to the blueprint. 

Two thousand nursing beds for the disabled will be added in the city. 

More cultural activities for the disabled will be organized and libraries will be guided to prepare Braille books.

An increasing number of sports venues and fitness facilities designed for the disabled will be built at local communities. 

Construction of barrier-free facilities will be beefed up, including establishment of barrier-free carriages on Metro trains and barrier-free parking spaces in public parking lots, big residential complexes, government service venues, hospitals, hotels and shopping malls.