The Shanghai court recently launched a free sign language service to help people with hearing disabilities initiate lawsuits and safeguard their rights and interests.
Shanghai Huangpu District People’s Court launched the pilot service on December 3.
By the end of 2019, the city had about 578,000 people with disabilities, of whom 75,000 were registered as hearing impaired, according to the Shanghai Disabled Persons’ Federation.
The court said that the new service was intended to help the “silent minority group” get better access to services when they require legal assistance.
The service is expected to be rolled out at more courts in the city if the pilot proves successful.
Online training classes for court employees accompanied the introduction of the service.
The Shanghai Disabled Persons’ Federation and the court have jointly developed teaching materials and a syllabus for the course.
