After eating two hamburgers and a plate of French fries on the second floor of a McDonald's on Beijing's Wangfujing Street, 12-year-old Ciren Jiacuo ran down the stairs almost knocking over an elderly woman.
The boy acts like any other of his age, except for one fact - he is completely deaf. He lost his hearing at age 3 due an operation that went wrong.
He is a third-grade at the Lhasa Special Education School.
As a representative of the Lhoba ethnic group, China's smallest, with a population of just over 2,000, Ciren was one of 56 children who were invited to visit the host city of the Olympic Games, as part of the "Beijing Olympic tour for children from 56 ethnic groups".
The program ran from Wednesday to Sunday, and was mainly organized by the China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF), and the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Games of the 29th Olympiad (BOCOG).
The children were selected from more 1,000 from 13 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. Most of them have visual, hearing or other disabilities.
"All children have the right to pursue happiness and realize their dreams no matter whether they have disabilities or not, and no matter which ethnic group they are from," Tang Xiaoquan, vice-president of CDPF and executive vice-president of BOCOG, said.
On the 50-day countdown to the Olympics on Wednesday, the children visited the National Stadium and the National Aquatics Center.
"I think the National Stadium is more like a crown than a bird's nest," 8-year-old Zhang Yuan of the Derung ethnic group, who comes from Gongshan, Yunnan province, said.
Compared with the high spirited Zhang, Chu Xiaogang was rather quiet. "I help my grandmother to take her medicine every day. She is 73 years old and not in good health. I don't know whether she is all right now."
The 12-year-old represents the Hezhen ethnic group, the third smallest with a population of about 4,000.
The children also played soccer against China's 7-a-side team that is training for the Beijing Paralympic Games.
During the five days, the children watched the national flag raising ceremony at Tian'anmen Square, and visited the Forbidden City.
They also received many gifts, including everything from wheelchairs and laptop computers, to books and stationery.
A total of 17 children including Ciren received hearing aids, which were too costly for their parents to afford.
"I can hear sounds. I'm so excited," Ciren said. It was his first hearing aid.
Outside the audiometry room of the National Rehabilitation Research Center for Deaf Children, the boy kept on communicating through sign language, and a sound could be heard coming from his throat.
Source: China Daily
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