(BEIJING, March 10) -- Eight disabled people who were attending the current sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, paid a visit to the Olympic Tower and exchanged views on the improvement of accessibility with BOCOG officials on Saturday.
After Executive Vice-President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XIX Olympiad (BOCOG) Yang Shu'an's welcome, the staff of BOCOG's Volunteer Department briefed the visitors on the preparations for the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. The visitors expressed their opinions and suggestions on the volunteer services.
Zhang Haidi, a disabled role model in China, praised the availability of accessible facilities in the Olympic Tower, including gradient passages and lifts bearing Braille signals and guide sounds. Several Pre-Games volunteers rendered considerable services during the visit.
The volunteer recruitment for both the Olympics and Paralympics has been well underway since it was launched on August 28, 2006. The number of applicants had risen to 370,372 as of March 7, with 80 percent of them willing to serve for both Games.
