China has dominated the medal count at the last five Paralympic Games. That's in stark contrast with the low level of disability access in Chinese society.
People attend the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games 100 Day countdown event at the National Aquatic Center in Beijing, China, on Nov. 24, 2021.compete on the Chinese Paralympic TeamChina has dominated the medal count at the last five consecutive Paralympic Games and is projected to sweep again this year. Its method for success? Substantial state funding and a highly competitive track for identified athletic talent.
"Sports is one of the few ways a person with disabilities can receive resources from the state," says Chen Bo, a law professor at the Macau University of Science and Technology who specializes in disability access. Yet there are still substantial disparities between Paralympic and Olympic funding. According to public statistics, funding for Paralympics in China last year alone was 20.99 billion yuan , about half of what China's General Administration of Sport spends on its Olympic athletes. It was not until Beijing secured the bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics that Paralympians got their own facilities.
But Ping is plucky. She's never stopped pushing for disability access. She was the first person in China to get a licensed guide dog — a golden retriever named Lucky. In 2008, she and Lucky ran the last relay of the Olympic torch for the Beijing Summer Games.Snow machines make artificial snow near the ski jumping venue for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics before the area closed to visitors, on Jan. 2, in Chongli county, Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, northern China.
"The charity model is more like people with disabilities are the subject of the pity and the subject of the charity," rather than experiencing real inclusion, says Chen.
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