Disability rights NGO to host centennial events in Beijing

Rehabilitation International will organize a series of events and forums in Beijing from Friday to May 23 to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

A non-governmental and non-profitable world organization initiated in the United States in 1922, Rehabilitation International has made great contributions to protecting the rights of people with disabilities. The China Disabled Persons' Federation joined the organization as a member in 1988.

The federation's president, Zhang Haidi, was elected as president of Rehabilitation International in 2016.

"I've taken the organization to keep developing through reforms and innovations after I took office. I proposed it's of greater importance to know lives and disabilities, respecting and helping people with disabilities and stressing people's dignity and personal values," she said at a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

The organization has set up funds to support over 30 charitable programs worldwide with financial assistance from the Chinese government, such as an education program in Nepal and a skills training program for disabled women in Malta.

"People share equal dignity and rights. We've called for the international society, all the countries and regions of the world to respect the diversity of human beings and human rights. We should pay more attention to disabled people — who make up 15 percent of the world's total population — and promote their equal engagement in world affairs and comprehensive development to build up a society with peace, inclusiveness and goodwill," she said.

She added the organization will release a declaration at the centennial ceremony to call for the United Nations to set up a world disabled organization and pay attention to the cause of the disabled in the future.