New doors open for blind, visually imparied

Fresh chapter

New ways have also been developed to help the blind read books.

In 2012, the China Disabled Persons' Federation launched an audiobooks project. With support from major publishing and media groups, the project transformed books and television programs into audio versions and sent them to blind people.

In 2014, the Himalaya audio-sharing platform developed barrier-free access, which recognizes users' voices and helps them find the books they want. This function has been updated by the platform for the past eight years.

Furthermore, the visually impaired can also become program anchors, sharing their stories with audiences.

Ma Yinqing, a girl born prematurely in 1994 who became blind after breathing too much oxygen in an incubator, enrolled at Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine to major in blind massage.

She wanted to do something to better use her potential, so she learned to use audio-editing software to share with audiences recordings of herself reading books. Having amassed more than 1 million followers, Ma is one of the most influential anchors in China to impress audiences with her voice.

To ensure that barrier-free versions of books and other resources do not violate copyright, China handed the ratification paper of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled to the World Intellectual Property Organization. The treaty took effect in China on May 5.

In 1991, the domestic copyright law authorized publishing groups to make braille versions of published books and other works without obtaining the copyright holder's approval.