Synopsis of the story

There are more than 27 million deaf mutes in China. Their physiological defects make them unable to communicate with people normally. When their rights and interests are violated and their demands cannot be expressed normally, it is difficult to carry out legal rights protection with their own strength.

Tang Shuai, the first sign language lawyer in China, grew up in a silent family. He knows the hard life of deaf mutes, so he knows more about the needs of deaf mutes. In 1985, Tang Shuai was born into a deaf mute family in Dadukou, Chongqing. Although his parents are deaf mute, they want Tang Shuai to live in a world of healthy people and strongly oppose him to learn sign language. As a child, Tang Shuai had to sneak into his parents' workplace to learn sign language from deaf mute workers. Later, Tang Shuai learned that in China, there are regional differences in sign language in different places. Tang Shuai conveniently went to the Jiefangbei and Chaotianmen tourist attractions in Chongqing on weekends and holidays to learn sign language with deaf and mute tourists from all directions. In this way, Tang Shuai has learned sign language dialects from all over the country for more than ten years. Tang Shuai has always followed the habit of learning sign language from deaf mutes all over the world until he went to college. Now he is almost proficient in sign language all over the country. At the beginning of 2006, Tang Shuai obtained a sign language translation certificate and began to assist the public security, procuratorial and legal departments in the communication and handling of deaf mute cases. During this period, Tang Shuai contacted thousands of deaf mute cases, but never met a lawyer who can speak sign language. There was a strong voice in his heart: "Even if he gave up his job and started again, he should speak for the deaf and mute!"

In the silent world, Tang Shuai defends the deaf mutes with both hands, thus becoming a trusted lawyer for the deaf mutes. In 2011, Tang Shuai passed the self-study examination and was admitted to the law major of Southwest University of Political Science and Law. Tang Shuai has his own considerations when choosing a law major. "Over the years, I have summarized that deaf mute people face the greatest difficulties in legal rights protection and medical treatment. I think that since I am proficient in sign language, I can really help them by learning either law or medicine." He took two and a half years to complete a four-year undergraduate course. During this period, he began to go all over the country to learn local dialect sign language and national standard sign language. Tang Shuai said: "More than 90% of the deaf mute people in society use natural sign language, so they need to understand both the law and the translation of local dialect sign language." In 2012, Tang Shuai successfully passed the judicial examination, obtained the legal practice qualification certificate, and became a full-time lawyer. Tang Shuai said that one of the important reasons why he changed from "sign language translation" to "sign language lawyer" was that "sign language translation" replaced the "mouth" of deaf mutes, and that being a lawyer was hoping to become an important defense line to prevent unjust, false and wrong cases.

In addition to his defense work, Tang Shuai also publicized and educated the deaf and mute. Because they do not know the law, when the rights of deaf mutes are violated, the vast majority of people's suffering can only be swallowed in the stomach. Therefore, Tang Shuai, while helping the deaf mute to represent the case, also took the initiative to popularize the law for the deaf mute. After becoming a lawyer, Tang Shuai directly contacted and participated in more and more cases of deaf mutes, and the opportunities to carry out law popularization activities also increased. Tang Shuaihe and his team have provided legal advice and assistance to nearly 160000 deaf mutes online and offline. Tang Shuai was pleased to find that the legal awareness of the deaf mute group was improving through the communication in the live broadcast room.

Tang Shuai has been working hard to prevent himself from becoming the "only one". In 2017, Tang Shuai released the recruitment enlightenment for deaf mute college students to colleges and universities nationwide, and selected five applicants from nearly 100 applicants to form a special team. From August 2017, Tang Shuai conducted a one-year legal knowledge training for five deaf mute college students. The ultimate goal of this training is to train them to become legal practitioners. Tan Ting was one of the first five students admitted to the law firm. In 2020, Tan Ting, a deaf mute girl trained for three years, passed the judicial examination in 2020 and became the first deaf mute in China to pass the judicial examination. Facts have proved that it is feasible for deaf mutes to learn law, and they can understand it! Since 2020, as an external teacher of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Tang Shuai has been teaching sign language to law students on weekends.

In view of the lack of specialized legal service talents for the deaf mute and other groups in China, Southwest University of Political Science and Law took the lead in opening the "Experimental Class of Outstanding Public Legal Service Talents" in November 2020. The experimental class adopts the small class teaching mode, develops a separate talent training program, selects excellent teachers inside and outside the school to teach, and implements the tutorial system, Special legal talents who provide professional legal services for vulnerable groups are specially trained. Small class teaching and the development of a separate talent training program have filled the gap in the training of legal service talents for special groups in China.

In the face of more than 27 million deaf mutes nationwide, Tang Shuai, the "first sign language lawyer in China", tried his best to defend the silent crowd and bring the voice of justice to the silent corner. Tang Shuai also expects more people to go with him, and a team of lawyers who know both law and sign language will emerge as soon as possible, so as to deliver the justice of law to this special group. Let those who are silent feel warm, see hope, drag them back to the marginalized figure, and help them integrate into the social family more smoothly. He has always believed that the power that condenses love at the fingertips will eventually bring light and hope to the silent world.

For the complete story, see Chapter 10 of China's Human Rights Story in the New Era: Love at Fingertips, "Spokesman" of the Silent World