Nicholas Netzer
Contemporary China 370
Dr. Charles Hammond
Journal #9
In the recent ‘war’ being raged against the AIDS virus, China was asked to step up to the plate, as they are the world’s most populous nation. Premier Wen Jiabao recently visited three AIDS patients and shook their hands, which is a big deal since many people in China still believe that you can contract the disease by eating a meal with someone who has the AIDS virus. Premier Wen was wearing a red ribbon as a symbol of care for the patients. He sat around and talked with the three about their lives, children and jobs.
Wen suggested that governments at all levels need to strengthen their epidemic supervision and provide free anti-AIDS treatment, free anonymous test and free education for AIDS patient’s orphans. He stated that China would make its best efforts with the world to prevent and treat AIDS. There are nearly 840,000 people in China currently that are HIV positive and another 80,000 are suspected of having the AIDS virus. Some estimates suggest that the outbreak of HIV/AIDS infected to increase to about 10-20 million by the year 2010, which is an enormous leap.
Interestingly enough, there was a crime ring in Hangzhou that was busted up a short while ago, and nearly half the members were found to be HIV or AIDS positive. These men saw it as a shield against the law as Chinese law prohibits long term detention for patients of serious diseases.
