The Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games opened at the Bird’s Nest Stadium on Friday. At the ceremony, China presented itself as a country of inclusion.
Foto: imago images/Xinhua
In sport, there are few messages left by the Chinese Communist Party that are uncritically taken up in the West. One of them: the 2008 Summer Paralympics strengthened the rights of disabled people in the People’s Republic. Beijing repeatedly refers to the “awakening” of that time, the construction of barrier-free infrastructure in the metropolises, the passing of laws in education and health care, the establishment of disabled sports. It is a story that the regime now wants to continue, since the Paralympics have been taking place in Beijing for the second time since Friday, this time in the winter version. More than 560 athletes from 49 nations take part.
Stephen Hallett is a good judge of what’s behind the facade. The British scientist lived in China for a long time and set up an educational radio program there with visually impaired journalists in 2006. “Interesting networks emerged in civil society back then,” says Hallett. ‘That has led to some progress. Unfortunately, however, the authorities have often forgone the advice of people with disabilities.«
As an example, he cites guidance systems for the blind that were not maintained or made no sense from the start. “A lot of money was spent on construction work that only benefits a few people in the end.” Instead, the Communist Party wants to let the Paralympic successes speak for themselves. With a view to 2008, the world’s largest training center for disabled athletes was built in a suburb of Beijing. “The talent scouting ranges from the national level to the provinces and cities to the villages,” says the Chinese medicine professor Wei Wang, who teaches in Perth (Australia): “Hospitals, charitable organizations and schools are involved.” The result: Since 2004 in Athens, the People’s Republic dominates the medal table at the Summer Paralympics – at no other sporting event can it outperform its political rivals so far.
China’s regime interprets this superiority as a symbol for the care of the welfare state. “In fact, the Paralympics in China have little impact on the population,” says Stephen Hallett, a researcher at the University of Leeds. “On the contrary: they are a symbol of isolation.” Athletes who are recruited for elite sport have to spend months in spartan training centers, far from their families and friends. “If you don’t make it to the top, the system throws you out,” says Hallett. »Even medal winners receive little support after their career. Some are now suffering from depression.«
The perception of people with disabilities is only changing slowly in China – also because of centuries-old traditions. In Confucianism, healthy and “productive” children are considered ideal because they can nurture their ancestors and continue the family line. In Buddhism, which is also influential, a disability is sometimes considered a punishment for a previous life. In recent history, radical political upheavals such as the Cultural Revolution have created millions of people with disabilities. Currently, environmental damage and earlier abortions as a result of the one-child policy are also having an impact on health.
According to a 2006 census, there are more than 80 million people with disabilities in China, but there are no more recent figures. Three quarters of them live in the countryside, far away from the modern metropolises, far away from the prestigious medal production. “The government has done too little to establish sport as part of preventive healthcare and rehabilitation,” says Hallett.
“The Paralympics can only be a kick-off,” says Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee IPC. “Social change can take decades.” There have always been setbacks. After the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, the Australian government expanded accessibility building codes, but sport funding was scaled back. In the winter of 2014 in Sochi, the sports facilities were seen as model buildings, but far away from the Russian metropolises, disabled people are still at a disadvantage when it comes to health care and when looking for a job. Before the summer games in Rio 2016, the Brazilian government drew up a differentiated anti-discrimination law, but in the favelas disabled people often cannot leave their homes due to a lack of help.
In Western societies, the concept of inclusion has prevailed, the equal participation of people with disabilities. In sport, this would mean that athletes with and without disabilities benefit from the same sports facilities, bonus rules and training. In China, people are still a long way from that, says Stephen Hallett. Also because the government under Xi Jinping is hardly receptive to recommendations from civil society.
In terms of content, the topic is dominated by the state-affiliated Association of the Disabled, founded in 1988 by Deng Pufang, the son of the reformer Deng Xiaoping. “This organization is relatively closed and has few employees with disabilities,” says Hallett. In recent years, the association has supported the search for Paralympic coaches and technical experts from Europe. Eventually, China is set to take the lead in the Winter Paralympics as well. However, the effects for disabled people without a chance of winning a medal should therefore be limited.
