Flowers of Resilience 🌸
On November 12, 2025, during Spain’s King Felipe VI state visit to the Chinese mainland, Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Queen Letizia visited the Beijing Demonstration Center of Service for Persons with Disabilities. Women from the "Beauty Workshops" handwove delicate flower bouquets, symbolizing resilience and creativity. Both guests received the gifts with warm smiles and words of encouragement. 😊
Dreams in Handicrafts
Peng emphasized that empowering persons with disabilities requires broad support from all sectors of society. China’s "Beauty Workshops" initiative offers training, design help, and online marketing channels, enabling women with disabilities to work from home or secure institutional jobs. By the end of 2024, over 12,000 women were working remotely and 3,300 obtained stable employment—boosting their annual income by an average of 15,800 yuan. 💪
Learning and Earning 📚💰
Education is at the heart of inclusion: by late 2024, 12,500 students were enrolled in special education high schools, 26,900 in vocational programs, and more than 30,000 in higher education—including nearly 2,000 postgraduates. These opportunities help youth with disabilities gain skills and confidence to fully participate in society.
Tech Bridges the Gap 🤖
At the center’s exhibition on the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, visitors explored cutting-edge assistive technologies: brain-computer interfaces that control prosthetics, Chinese speech-recognition systems enabling children with cerebral palsy to communicate, and AI-assisted rehabilitation for early autism intervention. Over 3,000 websites and mobile apps have been upgraded with accessibility features, helping bridge the digital divide.
Global Cooperation 🌍
Peng and Queen Letizia also discussed strengthening international collaboration. China has co-hosted disability forums with the EU, supported UN 2030 Agenda goals, and organized Belt and Road events on disability affairs. As of June 2025, Chinese rehabilitation experts trained more than 300 prosthetics technicians and caregivers in Southeast Asia and donated hearing aids and assistive devices. Participants from Africa and Asia are invited to domestic training programs—a true "teach a man to fish" approach. 🤝
Through joint efforts and innovative solutions, China’s model showcases how society can empower persons with disabilities, inspiring young changemakers around the world to dream big. 🚀
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
