Athletes from all four Special Olympics Programs in East Asia traveled to Shenyang, Liaoning province in northeastern China to compete in a three-day regional table tennis competition from 5-7 July. The regional competition was the second of its kind, the first having occurred in Shanghai in 1997 . Twenty-one sub-Programs from China competed in the event alongside their counterparts from Chinese Taipei (eight athletes), Hong Kong (seven athletes) and Macau (six athletes); a total of 140 athletes competed and were joined by 70 coaches and assistants. Volunteers from the local physical education university provided assistance as referees.

The athlete delegations stayed at the Olympics Training Hotel facility developed by the Shenyang Disabled Persons Federation – a complex which provides training opportunities for disabled athletes from around the province. The competition drew senior provincial government officials as well as local media. It also provided a great opportunity for athletes from the different Programs to meet and for Special Olympics Shenyang to further develop their competition experience.

In conjunction with the competition, the athletes took part in Special Olympics Lions Clubs-International Opening Eyes and Special Smiles screenings. A team of doctors from Wenzhou Medical College, a Special Olympics Regional Collaborating Center, traveled north to Shenyang to train local health care professionals and help conduct the screening. Aside from providing eyeglasses and other medical equipment, the screening allowed the Healthy Athletes program to develop yet another team of trained doctors ready to hold screenings in their province when needed. The screening was funded in part by grants from the Lions Clubs International.