Advocate for disabled embraces new global mission

Chinese advocate for the rights of the disabled Zhang Haidi will take over the top leadership role at Rehabilitation International, a leading global network for the rights of disabled people and their full inclusion in society.

Zhang assumed the new role at the organization's annual meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Thursday. She had been serving as chairwoman of the China Disabled Persons' Federation.

Under her leadership, Rehabilitation International will upgrade its global network, encourage more involvement from developing countries and make the best of rehabilitation expertise, particularly for disabled women and children, Zhang said in her inauguration speech.

"Our responsibility is to help as many disabled people as possible gain access to rehabilitation — to see the light, to hear the sound, to sit, to stand, to walk, to run, to equally integrate into society and live a happy life," she said.

Known as a writer and translator, Zhang was elected as the group's president in 2014, which put on track to take over this year.

Zhang, 61, pledged to make more efforts in her four-year tenure to eliminate prejudice and discrimination and to promote an equal, sharing and inclusive environment worldwide for people with disabilities.

"People congratulate not only me but also China for what it has achieved in recent years to help its disabled people," she told China Daily on the sidelines of Rehabilitation International's World Congress.

Zhang was paralyzed at the age of 5 but educated herself to university standards before earning a master's degree in philosophy at Jilin University. She was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of York in 2013 and another by the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2015.

A prolific writer, Zhang's published works include Beautiful English, Wheelchair Dream, and Unsinkable Boat.

There are about 85 million disabled people in China, less than a third of whom are registered. China had only about 7,000 rehabilitation centers as of 2015, with 232,000 employees.

"China has just entered an important stage with the presidency of a global organization dedicated to rehabilitation and people with disabilities," said outgoing RI President Jan Monsbakken. "I think it's about time for China to hold such a position."

An increasing number of Chinese are rising to key positions in world organizations, ranging from Margaret Chan's appointment as director-general of the World Health Organization to Yang Shaolin's more recent appointment as chief administrative officer of the World Bank Group.

Founded in 1922, the New York-headquartered Rehabilitation International network includes service providers, government agencies, academics and researchers. Its World Congress, staged every four years, will next convene in Denmark in 2020.