Assessing HIV/AIDS Initiatives in China - Center for Strategic and ...

Bates Gill 17
HIV-positive MSM and other MSM. 30 Although some producers and editors have been
criticized by propaganda authorities for exceeding undefined boundaries, the punishments
have been perfunctory and the environment is clearly trending toward a more open and
frank discussion of these issues in public.
Additional indications that the gay community is emerging from the shadows are
cropping up across China, from university courses in homosexuality at prominent
universities, to gay kite festivals in Shenyang and Fuzhou, 31 to gay and lesbian film
festivals in Beijing. 32 These activities, however, remain under watch by authorities,
especially to monitor whether they are too political. 33 China’s first major gay and lesbian
film festival, slated to take place in Beijing in December 2005, was shut down by public
security authorities before it could open. Police claimed that the organizers did not have
permission to hold the event. 34
Migrant Population
Paradoxically, even though migrants are highly visible, well studied, and accessible in all
cities, because they do not fall under the jurisdiction of local health authorities, they are
rarely the target of consequential HIV/AIDS prevention education, testing, or treatment
efforts. Despite being visible everywhere, government public health organs can rarely
find migrants. Although various government departments have made some passive
efforts, such as posters and condoms distributed at railroad stations, no sustained program
of any significant size has been implemented to address the migrant population.
With their low wages and willingness to take on hard and dirty work, migrants are
fueling China’s roaring economic growth, while at the same time being left behind.
Stigma toward migrants is very high in urban areas. Epithets to describe migrants are
commonly used by urbanites, and migrants are frequently blamed, often unjustly, for
urban problems such as crime and litter. Migrants live in the cheapest possible housing
(even with low wages, the bulk of their income is sent home), further isolating them from
urban society. Without social insurance or legal residence, they often have little access to
public medical or education services where they work. For migrants most at risk of HIV,
such as intravenous drug users in urban areas without official residence, they are not
allowed to access methadone clinics. Prevention within this population is critical, but
their mobility, isolation, and social status present enormous challenges for governments
that are already struggling to provide services to their permanent residents.
Major Chinese and International Initiatives
Given these positive developments and persistent challenges, what has been the response
from Chinese authorities and major international partners?
30
“ 新 闻 闻 : 以 以 以 义 ” [“News Investigation: The Name of Life”], CCTV News, August 9, 2005.
31
Carrie Yang, “Rainbow Kites Carry Gay Pride,” South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), June 14, 2005.
32
“Homosexual Film Fest to Open in Beijing,” Shenzhen Daily, April 20, 2005.
33 Restrictions on AIDS Activists in China (New York: Human Rights Watch, June 2005), accessed at
http://hrw.org/reports/2005/china0605/.
34 “Police Call Halt to China’s First Gay Cultural Festival,” London Times, December 17, 2005.