A 40-year-old blind Chinese man passed the Test of English as a Foreign Language for visually impaired people and went to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Southern California.

Yang Yang works as a rehabilitation and manipulation physician at a Chinese Medicine hospital in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. A native of Liaoning province, his eyesight deteriorated when he was in second grade. He was later found to have suffered pathological changes to his retina. At 15, he had to drop out of school due to his impaired vision.

Two years later, Yang found work at an architectural design institute, where he did sample inspection work that does not require eyesight. He furthered his education and was admitted to the Qingdao Senior High School for the Blind.

"After I lost my eyesight, I wanted very much to read and study, even if just for fun," Yang says. "My parents acted as my eyes. They have read to me since my childhood."

Yang took the national college entrance exam and was admitted to the Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, where he studied acupuncture and massage. In 1999, Yang graduated from college and joined his parents in Shenzhen.

"I heard about software that could help me read the screen. I spent almost $200 to buy the software, which was about half my monthly salary then. That software dictates to me the content displayed on the computer screen. I can use it to surf the Internet, send e-mails and do word processing and spreadsheets," Yang says.

With the software, Yang hoped to pursue a postgraduate degree. But he found that no Chinese universities offered such degrees specifically for visually impaired people. As the first step toward getting a post-graduate degree from a foreign university, Yang decided to take the TOEFL for the blind.

"I taught myself English through computers. To start, I just downloaded textbooks from the Internet and recited the texts."

Yang took the test in Hong Kong last year, scoring a mark of 97 out of 120. After participating in video interviews and submitting the proper documentation, Yang received offers from two US universities. He chose to go to the University of Southern California.

"Studying can help me improve and fulfill my life. One can change one's fate through effort. I firmly believe that with effort, a child can draw a beautiful world if you give him a pen and paper," Yang says.

China Features

(China Daily 07/20/2014 page4)