Japan's First Lady Akie Abe, who accompanied her husband, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on his first China visit since taking office, visited Yuetan Middle School in downtown Beijing and the China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF) yesterday afternoon.

 

Mrs Abe sat in on a Japanese class at Yuetan and was deeply impressed by the teacher's unique way of teaching and the students' enthusiasm when answering questions, all in fluent Japanese. After class, she had a warm and friendly chat with some of the students. The school's headmaster told Mrs Abe that Yuetan was the only secondary school in Beijing where Japanese is taught to junior and senior high students.

 

 

Following the school tour, Mrs Abe visited CDPF headquarters in Guanyuan, Xicheng District. Deng Pufang, the federation's chairman, briefed her on the development of services for the disabled in China. At the reception hall of CDPF's office building, Deng explained that the plum flower design on the floor symbolized the spirit of togetherness and solidarity of all disabled persons in China. The building was completed in June 2005.

 

After their meeting, Mrs Abe, whose aim is also to improve people-to-people contact between China and Japan, gave an interview to Chinese and foreign reporters.

 

 

(China.org.cn by Zhang Mei, October 9, 2006)