A man moved his hands adeptly, sending non-verbal cues before a screen. On the other side, a sign language interpreter mediated the communication between the man and a staff. A soundless communication was going well in Pingtan, an island city closest to Taiwan on the Chinese mainland.

Such a scene became prevalent at the Administrative Service Center in Pingtan starting from June 4 after a sign language interpretation service for residents with special needs had been introduced. With the help of the real-time translation service, Wu Huilong, a hearing impaired citizen successfully checked the balance of his medical insurance account and printed out the medical treatment details. The whole process only took a few minutes.

“The equipment is usually activated within 10 seconds, achieving undifferentiated service for the vulnerable group,” said Kang Xiaobing, a technical officer from the Administrative Service Center.

Hearing impaired Wu Huilong (First from Right) communicates with staff through sign language interpretation service.

Previously, people with hearing impairment needed family or friends to accompany them to handle matters at the service hall. They typewrote on mobile or wrote on paper for communication. Even if it was a simple task, it was inefficient.

The service is the first of its kind in E China’s Fujian province. The move is part of efforts to further improve the business-friendly environment of Pingtan.

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