Seven Chinese agencies issue third national sign language and Braille plan for 2026-2030
In short
Seven Chinese government bodies, led by the China Disabled Persons' Federation, have jointly issued the Third-Phase National Sign Language and Braille Standardisation Action Plan (2026-2030), China News Service and Jiemian reported on October 9. The plan sets out six main tasks for sign language and Braille work in the 15th Five-Year Plan period, from wider promotion of national common sign language and Braille to digitisation, talent training and international exchange.
Read the full story 2 min read
The China Disabled Persons' Federation, the Central Publicity Department, the Ministry of Education, the National Language Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Radio and Television Administration have recently jointly issued the Third-Phase National Sign Language and Braille Standardisation Action Plan (2026-2030), China News Service and Jiemian reported on October 9. The plan sets out sign language and Braille work for the 15th Five-Year Plan period. China News Service cited the federation's WeChat public account, while Jiemian credited its report to CCTV News. Yicai carried the news under the same headline. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The plan names six main tasks. The first is to strengthen promotion of national common sign language and national common Braille, providing barrier-free language services so that people with hearing and visual disabilities can learn and take part in social life. The second is to improve the system of norms and standards, with a focus on public services for disabled people, education and teaching, and culture and sports. The third is to speed up digitisation and innovation, bringing sign language and Braille digitisation into the national digitisation project for the common language and script. [ 2 , 3 ]
The fourth task is to increase the supply of resources by continuing to publish related books and developing digital learning resources. The fifth is to train more professionals, expanding the ranks of high-level talent in short supply, applied and all-round talent, and young and middle-aged research staff. The sixth is to promote international exchange in sign language and Braille and to push for related science and technology products and solutions to be applied abroad. [ 2 , 3 ]
The plan also calls for improving the national coordination mechanism for sign language and Braille work and for building a working pattern in which multiple departments take part, with support from many sides and coordination across levels, to promote high-quality development of the work. [ 2 , 3 ]
The reports describe sign language and Braille as special languages and scripts used by people with hearing and visual disabilities. Since 2015, the China Disabled Persons' Federation, the Central Publicity Department, the Ministry of Education, the National Language Commission and other departments have carried out two consecutive phases of the action plan. According to the reports, work on standardisation and digitisation has continued and promotion of national common sign language and Braille has been stepped up, laying a foundation for the work in the 15th Five-Year Plan period. [ 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
According to the reports, the plan is meant to provide barrier-free language services so that people with hearing and visual disabilities can learn and take part in social life. It is the third such plan since 2015, and it brings sign language and Braille digitisation into the national project to digitise the common language and script.
Key facts
- Seven departments jointly issued the Third-Phase National Sign Language and Braille Standardisation Action Plan (2026-2030). [ 2 , 3 ]
- The issuing bodies are the China Disabled Persons' Federation, the Central Publicity Department, the Ministry of Education, the National Language Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Radio and Television Administration. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The plan covers sign language and Braille work during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. [ 2 , 3 ]
- It sets out six main tasks: promotion, standards, digitisation, resources, talent training and international exchange. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Sign language and Braille digitisation is to be included in the national digitisation project for the common language and script. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Two earlier phases of the action plan have been carried out since 2015. [ 2 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Seven departments, including the China Disabled Persons' Federation, the Ministry of Education and the National Language Commission, jointly issued the third-phase sign language and Braille action plan for 2026-2030. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The plan sets out six main tasks for sign language and Braille work. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Two earlier phases of the action plan have been carried out since 2015. [ 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- The exact date the plan was issued. The outlets say only that it was issued recently.
- Funding, numerical targets or timelines for individual tasks. None of the reports give figures or deadlines for the six tasks.