Jin Jing. Photo: IC

By Wang Yufeng

Jin Jing has been a vocal advocate for the disabled since she became famous for shielding the Olympic torch from protesters in France during the Olympic torch run in 2008.

Although Jin is pleased that more Chinese are paying attention to issues involving the disabled, she remains outspoken about the prejudice and discrimination that remain in modern day China. She believes that some things being done in the name of the disabled amount to little more than lip service.

"People may be moved by the hardships that the disabled deal with, but their feelings change when they have to set aside their own interests."

Ongoing prejudice

As an Ambassador of Goodwill for the Life and Sunshine Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, she routinely visits the Expo Park to help make the facilities friendlier to the disabled.

Although she said she is satisfied with the Expo facilities, she vented her anger about the widely reported phenomenon of tourists who fake disabilities to go through the Green Channel, a special line opened for the elderly, the disabled and other special groups to get easier access to the Expo pavilions.

"These people just think that the disabled have an unfair advantage, but they have never considered the daily challenges we have to deal with," she said, the tone of her voice rising in anger, a sharp contrast to how she appears in public service announcements for the Shanghai Expo.

Jin remains busy with the public service announcements for the disabled, but she has her doubts about how effective they are. "In such a big city, young people are too self-centered, and it is hard to change older people's minds because their concept of the disabled has been set for decades," she said.

Jin lost her leg after she was diagnosed with cancer in the third grade. A malignant tumor had begun to grow in her right leg, forcing doctors to amputate. She also had to suffer through a year of chemotherapy.

Before Jin was famous one of the biggest problems she faced was getting employers to see past her missing leg. "After I graduated from a vocational school, I got an internship at a company where I worked in telemarketing," she said.

Her boss praised her work and she thought she was set for a full-time position. "I thought they would employ me because I had done the job well and I liked to talk, which is the most important thing in telephone sales."

But when the internship ended, Jin was the only one of the interns who didn't get hired, she said.

"Our society is paying more attention to treating disabled people fairly, but you cannot deny that it is still very hard for us to get equitable treatment, especially when it comes to finding a job," she said.

Jin now works as the Vice Chairman of the Labor Union for the Municipal Project Administration Bureau in Putuo district.

Lip service

For the interview, Jin wore a bright red hair band and a yellow dress. She has no problem showing her missing leg. Since she caught the public eye, she received a lot of attention from men, many of whom have sent her love letters. But the letters trouble Jin because they usually make a point of saying that they love her in spite of her disability. "I long for love like any girl," she said. "But I dislike how they say it."

Jin doesn't like the patronizing undertones of these letters because she doesn't see herself as disabled. "My husband should see me as a normal girl," she said.

Jin's experiences show that some continue to have trouble seeing beyond people's disabilities. Many people have sought help from Jin since she became famous, especially for employment, she said. Most have already tried going through associations that specialize in helping the disabled, but these organizations can usually only help a small number of people find jobs. "I know their feelings of desperation, and I try to give them a hand," she said. "But when I contact companies, they refuse to help even when the applicant's disability does not prevent them from doing the job."

Instead, many try to offer her a job. She said companies often try to recruit her to do public service announcements that turn out to be thinly veiled advertisements for their company. "They do not really care about the disabled, but just want to promote their own businesses."

Making their own way

In the middle of the interview, Jin got a call from a delivery man. She stood up from her chair, grabbed her crutches, and began to limp out to fetch the parcel. When asked why she didn't just let the door man bring it to her, she replied that she could do it herself so she didn't need the help.

Jin continues to struggle to have people recognize that the disabled can contribute to society. Once when she attended a meeting for the disabled in Beijing, she was told that the disabled didn't need to work because the government's social welfare could meet their needs. But Jin doesn't want to eke out an existence.

"Even though we might have lost limbs, or our vision, we still have something to contribute. We need to work so we can take pride in the money we make as well as earn the recognition that our lives have value."