Delegate Yang Xiaoling: I want kids with special needs to shine on stage

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‍There are over 85 million people with physical challenges in China, accounting for six percent of the total population. Yang Xiaoling is a delegate of the 19th CPC National Congress and she has committed 27 years of her life to special education.

Yang Xiaoling and her students. /CGTN Photo

She is a dance teacher and now deputy principal of the Wuhan No. 1 School for the Deaf in central China’s Hubei Province. Many students call her "mom".

"She teaches us to play the piano. She treats us with great food outside the school. And she teaches us to dance," said one student.

Every day, she spends at least three hours in the school's dance studio. Her dream is to see her students shine on stage, even if they can hardly hear or speak.

Yang Xiaoling’s dream is to see her students shine on the stage, even if they can hardly hear or speak. /CGTN Photo

Throughout the years, she has helped many students realize their dreams – more than 700 graduates went to colleges and universities, and some became performing artists or crafts workers.

She has introduced a lot of the country’s intangible cultural heritage projects to the school, such as Han embroidery, paper-cutting, and leaf painting, in the hope of empowering them with more skills.

Yang Xiaoling and her students at a handcraft course. /CGTN Photo

"I hope they can be prepared and are able to support themselves. They will gradually understand that although they are deaf and mute, they do not have to ask for more help -- they are able to give more to society," said Yang.

Progress has been made in recent years. But Yang said special education has been marginalized for a long time, and these children deserve more love and more attention.

She hopes that disabled children can enjoy a more inclusive learning environment, without discrimination or exclusion.

And she has a dream that's been deeply rooted in her heart for more than 20 years: To see higher education established for these students in Wuhan.

A student is doing the Han embroidery. /CGTN Photo

Yang told CGTN in tears, "when students graduate from our school, they hold me tightly in their arms and say, ‘Ms. Yang, we don’t want to leave you. We want to see you. We will miss you. When can we have a university for us in Wuhan?’ Indeed, this will be my biggest source of happiness if I can help them realize this dream."

She has brought her dream and passion to Beijing and shared with other delegates of the 19th CPC National Congress. On the second day of the congress, she was among the 20 delegates at the "Delegates Corridor" to field questions.

Yang was among the 20 delegates at the “Delegates Corridor” to field questions on 19 October 2017. /CGTN Photo

Yang told reporters on the spot, "The vocation of special-needs education in China has developed for more than 30 years. It is urgent that we further develop it and continue to reform and innovate, exploring ways to train children with special needs to better serve the society.”

Every dance performance has to come to an end, just as how even the best friends will part. But for Yang Xiaoling, her love for disabled children will continue and she hopes when they leave the school, they will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to survive in the future.

Moreover, she hopes children with physical challenges will be more accepted and better supported from both the government and the society.