Of the 17 hearing and speaking-impaired graduates, only six have found jobs so far.

The graduates, who majored in design and advertising, were enrolled in the Shanghai Technical College in the year 2000 as the first group of full-time disabled college students in Shanghai.

"What they (employers) say most often is that it is too hard to communicate with me," said Chen Feng, who was interviewed by more than 10 companies, but of no avail.

The graduates majored in designing should be in growing need, said Tang Jiqun, deputy dean of the department of art at the college.

"We never thought we would expect to see such a tough situation," he said with feelings.

"If employers were a bit more patient, think more of us and gave us more time, we would prove ourselves to be as good as the abled people and even better," Zhu Yaohua, a hearing-disabled graduate, said in sign language.

Graduate Wang Zhuo once won a Silver Award for packaging design in the national design contest in 2002.

Under government regulations, the disabled should account for at least 1.6 percent of the total work force in a company and institution. Those that hire fewer disabled employees than the minimum are required to fund a foundation to promoting the employment of the disabled.

Nevertheless, a number of employers would rather pay a certain sum of money than hire the handicapped people.

The Shanghai Municipal Federation of Disabled Persons was exerting itself to help the disabled graduates seek jobs and public appreciation, especially among employers, to give them more opportunities, said Cao Ziping, a senior official of the federation.

In Shanghai, there are 53 full-time and home study disabled graduates this year.

This year, China reported a record number of college graduates at 2.12 million, 46 percent more than last year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 8, 2003)