Just as the Paralympics fill Beijing with a growing appreciation for the rights and talents of the disabled, the China Daily announced rather depressingly that just one of the orphans from the Sichuan earthquake has been adopted. “One reason for the slow response is that many of the orphans are handicapped,” the newspaper reported. Most of the 532 children who lost their parents in the quake were taken in by other family members. Adoption of the remaining 88 is limited to Chinese couples over age 30.
The low response seems to be an indicator of China’s split personality on issues of disability. For every sign of progress there’s a unpleasant reality. There are miles of special sidewalk guides for the blind, but it’s common to see them blocked by parked bikes and carts. (Danwei discusses Beijing’s steps to keep the paths clear in a post today.) China’s first Paralympic gold medalist, visually impaired long jumper Ping Yali, carried the torch in Saturday’s inspiring opening ceremony with some help from Lucky, China’s Beijing’s first guide dog. But Lucky’s journey to the Chinese capital has been hampered by the lack of a national law governing guide dogs, Ping wrote on her blog last year.
It’s worth noting that the earthquake adoptions were only opened last month, so the response could improve. The changes that the Olympics were meant to inspire in China have so far seemed to be largely cosmetic. But there’s hope in the Paralympics. Perhaps the spirit that was in evidence Saturday night can carry on beyond Beijing’s arenas to the orphanages of Sichuan.