A better deal for disabled people was approved by China's State Council, or Cabinet, on Wednesday -- offering more education, rehabilitation, a higher standard of living and more jobs.

Revision of the 1991 Law on Protection of the Disabled was imperative, the council said, and draft changes will be sent to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for more deliberation.

The revision draft helps guarantee the rights and interests of handicapped people. Improvements include:

Establishing and improving rehabilitation services for the disabled.

Setting up educational institutions for the disabled and providing financial support for disabled students and children with poor disabled parents.

Creating more public welfare jobs for the disabled, providing free employment services, and encouraging employers to arrange jobs.

Adopting necessary aid measures for disabled families who suffer poverty, and guaranteeing subsistence allowances for city residents.

The draft also stipulates improvements for disabled-friendly facilities and buildings to enable people to equally take part in social life, the meeting said.

It also drafted rules on nurses' registration and training, seeking to protect their rights.

(Xinhua News Agency January 24, 2008)