From PTI, via The Hindu:

About 45,000 Chinese lose their eyesight every year due to various eye diseases, latest official statistics said Sunday, the International Day of the Blind.

By July this year, China had reported 12 million people having eye problems, with five million being blind and another 1.35 million suffering from amblyopia (reduced vision in one eye), according to statistics from the blindness prevention office of the Ministry of Health. [Full Text]