China news agency, Beijing, March 12 th: "Touchable" wedding vows, "grasping" happiness
China News Service reporter Guo Chaokai
"We are married voluntarily. Starting today, we will shoulder the responsibilities and obligations entrusted to us by marriage, respect and love each other, mutual trust and encouragement, mutual understanding and mutual accommodation …"
Fingertips across the ups and downs of Braille, Ms. Zhang and Mr. Wang "read" the Braille version of their wedding vows with their hands, while making promises in unison.
On the morning of March 12th, the couple walked into the Marriage Registration Service Center of Xicheng District Civil Affairs Bureau in Beijing hand in hand, and went through the marriage registration formalities without obstacles. Slightly different from other newcomers, the braille bumps are arranged in an orderly way on the document recording the wedding vows in their hands.
This is the standard document of the marriage registration in braille and big letters provided by the Marriage Registration Service Center of Xicheng District Civil Affairs Bureau for the couple, and it is also the first time that China has provided the notice of marriage registration and wedding vows in barrier-free format for the visually impaired.
Both Ms. Zhang and Mr. Wang suffer from congenital visual impairment. Ms. Zhang, who is engaged in braille proofreading, is visually disabled and can only feel weak light; Mr. Wang, who is proficient in Chinese massage, has a visual disability of Grade II and can barely read Chinese characters.
After learning about the eyesight of the two couples, the Marriage Registration Service Center of Xicheng District Civil Affairs Bureau specially invited China Braille Publishing House to make a braille version, a large-character version of the marriage registration notice and a wedding oath.
On the 12th, the center set up a green channel to make it easy for the couple to register.
"Today’s marriage registration process is more convenient than expected. Thanks to the center for opening a green channel for us. If there is no green channel, we have to make an appointment online. " Ms. Zhang, who completed the marriage registration, can’t hide her excitement. On that day, she was dressed in a red cheongsam. Love music, she also improvised a song "Many Happy Events" on the spot.
Ms. Zhang told reporters that when she touched the familiar Braille during the oath, she felt down-to-earth in her heart. "This happiness is tangible and can be grasped."
Wang Xing, director of the Marriage Registration Service Center of the Civil Affairs Bureau of Xicheng District, Beijing, said that in the past, when visually impaired people registered their marriages, the staff usually informed them of the contents of the marriage registration documents, and the oath was also taken by the staff. This time, the couple "read" the document according to their own eyesight and took an oath by themselves, "which also made them feel more experienced, happy and belonging".
"China Braille Publishing House has given our center the Braille version, the large-character version of the marriage registration notice and the wedding vows. In the future, the center will open a convenient channel for more visually impaired people to register for marriage." Wang Xing said.
On September 1, 2023, China’s first specialized law on barrier-free environment construction-Barrier-free environment construction law was officially implemented. The law clearly stipulates that the basic public services of the country use Braille, which is commonly used in the country.
Providing the visually impaired with barrier-free format documents for marriage registration is an exploration of building a barrier-free environment in China.
"This marriage registration ceremony (in China) is groundbreaking." He Chuan, vice chairman of the China Blind Association, said that the seemingly simple measure of providing barrier-free format documents for marriage registration is extremely warm, which indicates the progress of social public services in China and is also the embodiment of social civilization. (End)