of the People's Republic of China was carried into the stadium by a visually impaired boy, He Yuxuan accompanied by his mother. The flag was handed over to eight soldiers from the People's Liberation Army. He Yuxuan then touched the flag with his hands before the soldiers carried the flag to the flag podium in a slow, goose-stepping march. The flag was raised accompanied by the Chinese national anthem. Parade of nations Some of the mothers of the athletes competing at the games and more than 300 mothers of Chinese children with a disability first paraded into the stadium. The mothers lined the pathway holding flowers, the games' mascot Fun Fun and banners to cheer for the entering athletes. The sequence of entry was determined by the alphabetical order of the IOC code of each nation with Afghanistan being the first nation to enter. The host nation China was the last to enter. During the parade, Chinese pop music was played to liven the mood. Speeches Four dignitaries then walked onto the podium at the centre of the stadium. They were: Dato' Zainal Abu Zarin, President of Asian Paralympic Committee Liu Peng, the President of the GAPGOC (2010 Guangzhou Asian Para Games Organising Committee) and President of the Chinese Olympic Committee Huang Huahua, the Executive President of the GAPGOC and Governor of Guangdong Province Wang Xinxian, the Executive President of the GAPGOC and President of the Chinese Paralympic Committee Wang Xinxian, Huang Huahua and Liu Peng made each made speeches in Chinese highlighting the auspicious and historic nature of the games and welcomed athletes and visitors to Guangzhou. They also thanked the contributions of governments, organisers, volunteers and the people of Guangzhou. Each expressed their desires for a successful event. Dato' Zainal Abu Zarin made a speech in English, making occasional remarks in Malaysian and Chinese. He described these games as a "benchmark" for future events and praised the "unwaivering support" of the Chinese people. Abu Zarin acknowledged the work of the Chinese Paralympic Committee, GAPGOC and all levels of Chinese government. He thanked the sponsors, volunteers and the people of Guangzhou and congratulated the participating athletes. Afterwards, Li Keqiang, Vice Premier of China, formally opened the 2010 Asian Para Games. The flag of the Asian Paralympic Committee was carried into the stadium by eight Chinese Paralympic gold-medal athletes. This was accompanied by the official games theme song "Sailing with