A senior official on May 19 urged better access to braille publications and improved reading services for the country's visually impaired.

Liu Qibao, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the committee's Publicity Department, made the comment when inspecting China Braille Publishing House in Beijing two days before China's national day for the disabled which falls on May 21.

He said the CPC Central Committee attached great importance to the well-being of China's disabled population, including the visually impaired.

He called for increased efforts to provide better publications relating entrepreneurship, employment and literature for the visually impaired. He also stressed more audio books should be published.

Noting that more than 17 million Chinese are visually impaired, Liu urged the press to safeguard their basic rights and interests and called on society to do their part in providing reading services for the visually impaired.