Chinese scholars call for AIDS rules based on respect for individual rights

In June 2002, the UN Theme Group on HIV/AIDS in China published a comprehensive situation analysis and needs assessment of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The report, entitled "HIV/AIDS: China's Titanic Peril", also describes and analyzes current HIV/AIDS legislation and policies. It notes that "laws and regulations that are based on fear and prejudice have contributed to fuelling the epidemic instead of curbing it." The report observes that the targets and goals established in China's five-year Plan of Action (2001-2005) are not consistent with the commitments endorsed in June 2001 at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS. It states that the Plan "continues to present HIV/AIDS as a medical problem, and fails to understand the epidemic as a broader development issue." Even where laws could assist, enforcement remains a huge challenge. For example, in 1998 the National People's Congress passed a law prohibiting commercial blood donations for medical purposes. Nonetheless, the illicit and unregulated blood trade, which has rapidly accelerated the spread of HIV infection in China, has continued. When the alarm was sounded by Dr. Wan Yanhai, coordinator of the AIZHI (AIDS) Action Project, the government response was to arrest him. In the following article, Nick Young, editor of China Development Brief, reviews the findings of three studies commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the role of the law in response to HIV/AIDS.