Just a touch of the AIDS
For the last few months, an exhibit on AIDS has filled the 50-meter long display case along Cuihu Nan Lu along the south border of Green Lake Park. Last night at dinner, conversation turned towards AIDS awareness and government involvement here in Yunnan, and I mentioned that the government was at least doing something by way of public information. I’ve never taken a close look at the display case, though, because AIDS in China is often thought of as a “foreign disease” and I can only imagine a lengthy visit would deepen the association in the minds of onlookers.
I know a few people working on AIDS issues in Yunnan through Population Services International and Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, and as a result, am vaguely aware of the landscape of this issue. I am still surprised at times, though, as I was this morning reading an article carried by Reuters and picked up widely under the headline China AIDS policy must be matched by enforcement: UN (I’m linking to the version from Scientific American)
The article quotes heavily from an interview with Peter Piot, executive director of the United Nations AIDS agency UNAIDS. His basic argument is that the central government is making decent policy on the AIDS issue but enforcement is lax and the PSB is getting in the way.
I found this bit interesting:
Early this year Chinese police held prominent dissident and AIDS activist Hu Jia in secret detention for 41 days. Last week they detained him again only to release him a day later.
More on Hu Jia from Answers/Wiki (not blocked) More on Hu Jia in International Herald Tribune Sept 11 06
Piot went on to make a comment that I initially thought was completely ridiculous and unfounded:
“We have to see that public security is not going to arrest a woman who has a condom in her purse and say she is a prostitute. The State Council has issued a directive saying ‘no, that’s not a reason for arrest’,” he said, referring to the Cabinet. “But that’s going to take time.”
Uhhhhh…. WHAT??? So I did a bit of searching to figure out where this was coming from (and crashed my google trying to access a page from Human Rights Watch… should have known better) and it turns out that THIS DOES ACTUALLY HAPPEN — but only to sex workers or people the police hate, and possibly mostly in Hong Kong.
Condoms are very accessible in China, easily available in all drug and grocery stores (unlike San Francisco’s Sunset District, where Safeway locks their condom display case - a theft issue). There are even condom vending machines at fairly regular intervals all around the city of Kunming (see photo). So what gives?
Apparently when police want to arrest a known sex worker, they often add condom possession to the list of incriminating evidence. According to 108 mainland sex workers interviewed in Hong Kong by Ziteng,
On the use of condom, over half (52%) of the sex workers surveyed did not insist on using condom, for fear of arrest and prosecution because of its possession (82%). […]Moreover, 37 sex workers reported that they had been fraudulently accused by the police, with condoms as the prearranged evidence.
Not sure if this is happening on the Mainland. I’ll ask around and try to report back.
In the meantime, for those of you from Kunming, this is what I will be doing next Saturday evening, and I invite you to join me: Contageous Love, an exhibition of art and public education at the Nordica artist’s community. Openings at Nordica are usually free, and involve a great crowd and snacks.