Chinese lawmakers convened on Tuesday to discuss a draft amendment to the Law on Protection of the Disabled in an effort to better safeguard their rights and interests.

The disabled should be guaranteed with rights to play a fair role in social life, and share the fruits of China's economic and social development, said the draft amendment.

The draft, a revision to the previous one taking effect in 1991, is to "tackle new circumstances and problems" cropping up amid economic and social advances, said China's Civil Affairs Minister Li Xueju.

According to the China Disabled Persons' Federation, per person income in households with disabled members is less than half the country's average.

Meanwhile, 43.29 percent of the disabled people aged above 15 are illiterate, much higher than the 6.27 percent illiteracy rate for the country's overall population within the same age bracket.

The draft urges governments at all levels to take measures to provide better education, better rehabilitation, higher living standards and more jobs for the country's disabled.

The draft amendment was submitted Tuesday to the 32nd session of the 10th Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature.

(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2008)