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Fran Lu

Five years after she lost her left arm and leg in a car crash, a Chinese influencer started a shoe-cleaning business that provides jobs for disabled people.
Weng Xinyi has continued to move people with her optimistic life attitude.
The 30-year-old’s left arm and leg were amputated after her friend crashed a Porsche sports car in 2020.
She suffered three heart attacks and 14 rounds of surgery to survive.

Weng’s boyfriend left her and her friend, who survived the crash intact, stopped paying for her treatment.
It took her a year to finally accept her condition, and she marked the moment of her rebirth with a new name: Youyou, which means “right right” in English.
Weng worked harder to prove to the world that the disabled woman she had become was no different from the previously strong and optimistic Weng Xinyi.
In 2022, she established a yoga suit business and modelled the suits herself.

Last year, Weng opened a new shoe-cleaning factory in southern China’s Guangdong province, next to her hometown, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
She hired 10 staff, half of them disabled and assigned them roles according to their respective conditions.
For example, she let a person with brittle bone disease sort the shoes they received and record them in a digital file.

She also asked a person with a hearing impairment to operate the loud shoe-cleaning tools and a man with polio to clean the details because he works slowly and “more carefully”.
“Disability does not define a person’s boundaries, but their uniqueness. Disabled people have their own advantages. All they need is an opportunity,” Weng said.
Her factory now cleans 700 to 800 pairs of shoes a day. Its monthly revenue is 300,000 yuan (US$43,000).

Weng said her dream is to open a shoe cleaning branch in her hometown so that she could be closer to her parents, who have always been supportive.
Weng’s new plan received support from the Disabled Persons’ Vocational Service Association in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi.
Weng also volunteered as a public voice for the Disabled Persons Federation, spreading her optimism to more people.
Weng’s social media account now has nearly 500,000 followers. She also helped promote other disabled people’s businesses and raise funds for those who need help using her influence.
Weng helped a 12-year-old girl with leukaemia raise 800,000 yuan for her treatment. The girl has received a bone-marrow transplant.

She helped promote a homestay run by a paralysed woman and another who suffered from burns to find a job.
Weng has an independent and courageous image on social media.
She never hides her prosthetic leg and lost arm when going out. Sometimes she dresses in futuristic style to look like a “warrior”.
She also told some patronising men who offered to marry her that they are “out of my league”.
“Weng Youyou is the pride of all women. You are more able than a lot of able-bodied people,” said one online observer.


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China woman who lost limbs in car crash assigns disabled staff to jobs based on their strengths

A woman who lost her left arm and leg in a car accident, recently opened a shoe-washing factory in China, hiring disabled workers and creating roles based on their strengths. Photo: SCMP composite/Zhihu/Sina

Weng Xinyi lost her limbs when the car she was in was crashed by a friend who was driving. Photo: Douyin

Weng inside the shoe cleaning factory she set up and in which she employs people with disabilities. Photo: Douyin

Weng with her father. She says her dream is to open a branch of her business in her hometown. Photo: Douyin

Weng exercising at the gym. She never hides her disability or her prosthetics. Photo: Douyin

Weng, in a white top, holds a meeting with some of the staff at her factory. Photo: Douyin

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Wen Fengqin gets down and dirty with a struggling pig during one of the many contests she has taken part in. Photo: thepaper

Wen grapples with a squealing porker as another woman tries to muscle in. Photo: thepaper

Wen gets to a running pig ahead of her competitors in a muddy field. Photo: thepaper

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The pregnant woman attends one of her regular medical check-ups. Photo: Douyin

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Cantopop singer G.E.M. flicks through the pages of her debut novel. Photo: QQ.com

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Lin Ling poses for a photograph as a little girl. She was diagnosed with jaundice at birth. Photo: Douyin

A back pose by Lin showing off one of her many styles in a live-streaming session. Photo: Douyin

Lin applies make-up during another live stream. Her condition means she finds it difficult to do so. Photo: Douyin

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30-year-old who suffered 3 heart attacks, 14 rounds of surgery dresses like a ‘warrior’; is described as the ‘pride of all women’ online


30-year-old who suffered 3 heart attacks, 14 rounds of surgery dresses like a ‘warrior’; is described as the ‘pride of all women’ online.


Disability

China woman who lost limbs in car crash assigns disabled staff to jobs based on their strengths

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}30-year-old who suffered 3 heart attacks, 14 rounds of surgery dresses like a ‘warrior’; is described as the ‘pride of all women’ online

30-year-old who suffered 3 heart attacks, 14 rounds of surgery dresses like a ‘warrior’; is described as the ‘pride of all women’ online