China AIDS patients topple gate of gov't office
BEIJING — About 300 AIDS patients and their relatives tore down the main gate of a government office in central China during a protest Monday over unmet demands for financial assistance.
Protester Li Xia said police in Zhengzhou city beat some of the patients with batons after the group gathered outside the Henan provincial government office and blocked the main gate to demand a meeting with officials. She said one protester was dragged into the government building by police.
"We want the government to give us some help," said Li, who like many of the protesters was infected with HIV when she sold blood in 1995. Tens of thousands of people contracted the virus that causes AIDS in a blood-selling scandal in Henan in the 1990s that is widely seen as a failure of government leadership.
Collectors paid villagers to give their blood, pooled it without testing for HIV or anything else, extracted the valuable plasma then re-injected the blood back into those who sold it. Officials covered up the problem for years, which allowed HIV to spread when people were unknowingly infected from tainted transfusions at hospitals.
Activists say that local courts reject lawsuits for compensation, leaving the victims of the scandal with few avenues to seek redress. The patients and their families stage regular protests outside health bureaus and government buildings.
The group that protested on Monday had been told in April by an official from the local civil affairs department that the government would respond to their request for help in two months, but had been repeatedly put off since.
"We had been waiting outside here for so long, and it was raining, but no one cared," said Gao Yanping, another protester. "Now they are asking us to wait another 2 months? We cannot control our anger anymore."
Officials at the Zhengzhou city government propaganda office and the city's police bureau refused to comment. A woman who answered the phone at the Henan provincial government office denied that there had been a protest.
After ignoring or demonizing people with AIDS for much of the 1980s and 1990s, China's authoritarian government has taken a more compassionate line on the disease and combating its spread in recent years. But people with AIDS still face difficulties in getting treatment and compensation, and authorities remain deeply suspicious of independent activists.
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Associated Press researcher Flora Ji contributed to this report.
Protester Li Xia said police in Zhengzhou city beat some of the patients with batons after the group gathered outside the Henan provincial government office and blocked the main gate to demand a meeting with officials. She said one protester was dragged into the government building by police.
"We want the government to give us some help," said Li, who like many of the protesters was infected with HIV when she sold blood in 1995. Tens of thousands of people contracted the virus that causes AIDS in a blood-selling scandal in Henan in the 1990s that is widely seen as a failure of government leadership.
Collectors paid villagers to give their blood, pooled it without testing for HIV or anything else, extracted the valuable plasma then re-injected the blood back into those who sold it. Officials covered up the problem for years, which allowed HIV to spread when people were unknowingly infected from tainted transfusions at hospitals.
Activists say that local courts reject lawsuits for compensation, leaving the victims of the scandal with few avenues to seek redress. The patients and their families stage regular protests outside health bureaus and government buildings.
The group that protested on Monday had been told in April by an official from the local civil affairs department that the government would respond to their request for help in two months, but had been repeatedly put off since.
"We had been waiting outside here for so long, and it was raining, but no one cared," said Gao Yanping, another protester. "Now they are asking us to wait another 2 months? We cannot control our anger anymore."
Officials at the Zhengzhou city government propaganda office and the city's police bureau refused to comment. A woman who answered the phone at the Henan provincial government office denied that there had been a protest.
After ignoring or demonizing people with AIDS for much of the 1980s and 1990s, China's authoritarian government has taken a more compassionate line on the disease and combating its spread in recent years. But people with AIDS still face difficulties in getting treatment and compensation, and authorities remain deeply suspicious of independent activists.
___
Associated Press researcher Flora Ji contributed to this report.
常 坤 Chang Kun
主任 Director
郑州和而不同
Zhengzhou City He'rbutong
Tel:0371-87512825
Phone: 13349108944 13810726838
Email/MSN: heerbutong2011@hotmail.com
地址:河南省郑州市花园路39号国贸中心4号楼2单元406室 邮编：450000
郑州市和而不同，致力于推广阅读、推动公民教育，通过与政府和非政府组织的交流合作，开发和推广最佳实践经验，搭建沟通渠道与合作平台和公益产品营销网络平台，促进公民社会的发展。目前主持平台“和而不同”、社区服务“常坤的家”、艾滋病工作“艾博公益”等品牌。http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/2408250953
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艾博公益艾滋病人治疗和心理互助热线：132 9832 7812 （祝老师）
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艾博公益艾滋病法律热线 邮件咨询：aibolaw@163.com
平等就业就医和隐私保护权专线：155 0113 7876 (刘巍律师）
性工作者药物依赖者咨询专线：186 3922 8639 (蔺其磊律师）
婚姻家庭和生命财产安全咨询专线：150 3718 6255（姬来松律师）
新浪微博： @艾博公益艾滋病法律热线
艾博公益艾滋病法律热线服务监督投诉：
常坤 电话：13349108944 电子邮件：13349108944@189.cn
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Contact:
Chang Kun
Director of He'erbutong, an NGO in Henan province that offers legal assistance to HIV carriers
changkun2010@gmail.com
Skype:chinachangkun
Cell phone:13349108944
