The China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe will visit Hong Kong and Macao from June 11 to 25 in the first such tour by Chinese artists since the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
The tour has got approval by the State Council and all members assembled in Shanghai Tuesday to receive medical checks and for rehearsals, the troupe said in Shanghai Wednesday.
The trip was planned in June 2002 at the invitation of Lions Clubs International District 303 -- Hong Kong and Macao, who has stood by the invitation despite the SARS outbreak for the past months.
The troupe consists of 53 artists, including 35 disabled, with vocalists, musicians, dancers and Beijing Opera singers.
"We are moved at the invitation and will show our blessings through our performances to compatriots in Hong Kong and Macao," said Sun Yan, China's first blind university student studying piano.
"The China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe is a miracle, which convinces people not to lose confidence in life under any circumstances," said Xie Jin, a respected Chinese director.
The troupe has visited over 30 countries and areas since it was set up in 1987 and performed at two of the world's most famous venues, Carnegie Hall in New York and La Scala in Milan.
The official name of Lions Clubs International is the International Association of Lions Clubs. It is an international non-governmental charity organization.
(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2003)
