国内英语新闻:Chinese leaders urge better lives for the disabled

BEIJING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday sent respects to the nation's disabled people and called for greater efforts to improve their lives.

Xi made the remarks in a letter sent for congratulating the China Foundation for Disabled Persons on the 30th anniversary of its founding.

Letting the vast disabled population be worry-free, living and working happily is part of the Party's tenet of "serving the people," Xi said in the letter.

He urged the foundation to make greater efforts to let the disabled share China's development fruits and help them realize their dreams along with nation's rejuvenation.

China has about 85 million disable persons, accounting for nearly 6.3 percent of the total population.

A ceremony was held in the Great Hall of the People to commemorate the anniversary, which was attended by top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng.

Development of the disabled cause has always been a highlight at Communist Party of China (CPC)'s key meetings, according to Yu, a Standing Committee member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau.

Authorities must work to ensure the rights and interests of disabled people and create for them a sound social environment of respect and care, Yu said at the ceremony.

Both Xi and Yu praised the foundation's contributions during the past 30 years in improving disabled people's lives.

Yu encouraged the foundation to become a world-class organ in this field, urging it to be clean-handed, transparent and subjective to public supervision.

Since its establishment in 1984, the foundation has raised more than 5.3 billion yuan (862 million U.S. dollars ) in cash and goods, and helped launch more than 1,000 charity projects that have benefited nearly 10 million disabled people.