China improves accessible facilities for visually impaired individuals: think tank report

BEIJING -- China has prominently improved its standards for accessible facilities as the society's awareness of the interests of visually impaired individuals continues to rise, according to a think tank report released on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which falls on Dec 3.

The report, titled "China's Efforts to Safeguard Cultural Rights for the Visually Impaired: Insights from the 'Cinema of Light' Public Welfare Initiative", was released in Chinese and English by the China Foundation for Human Rights Development and the National High-level Think Tank of Xinhua News Agency.

According to the report, China has introduced several national standards to safeguard the cultural rights of visually impaired individuals in recent years. The country's first national standard in the public library service domain released in 2012 mandates that public libraries should meet the specific needs of people with disabilities, and suggests proper positions for visually impaired reading rooms in library buildings.

In 2019, China released its national standard for library services specifically for people with disabilities, defining norms for the targets, resources, forms and supervision of such library services, the report noted.

The Chinese government has also progressively established its internet accessibility standards for people with visual impairment in the digital age, the report said, citing the implementation of China's first national standard for internet accessibility in March 2020. The standard includes 58 specific criteria, such as providing audio CAPTCHAs and adding accurate semantic descriptions to webpage titles.

The government has also launched initiatives to improve the accessibility of government websites and apps. Since 2021, 2,726 websites and apps have been upgraded, creating better conditions for visually impaired individuals to access information and obtain public services online, according to the report.