China takes AIDS cases off banned entry index
Source: Xinhua |
April 28, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Chinese government announced yesterday the lifting of the 20-year-old ban on entry for foreigners with HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and leprosy.
A statement released by the State Council, or Cabinet, said after gaining more knowledge about the diseases in question, the government realized that such bans had a very limited effect in preventing and controlling them in the country.
They had, instead, caused inconvenience for the country when hosting various international activities.
The revision comes three days ahead of the opening of the Shanghai World Expo. The government temporarily lifted the ban for various large-scale events, including the 1990 Beijing Asian Games, the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Mao Qun'an, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said the groundwork for the lifting of the ban began some time ago.
The ministry had been advocating lifting the restriction since the Olympics. It took a few more years only because of the necessary procedures.
The decisions altered regulations for the Border Quarantine Law and the Law on Control of the Entry and Exit of Aliens, which set down the ban in the 1980s.
The previous ban was made in accordance with the "limited knowledge about HIV/AIDS and other diseases," the statement said.
Zhang Beichuan, a medical professor with Qingdao University and a front-runner in advocating the rights of people living with HIV (PLWHIV), said the move was huge progress.
"Previously, China viewed HIV/AIDS as an imported disease related to a corrupted lifestyle," he said. "But now the government is handling it with a public health perspective."
He Tiantian, a woman in her 30s living with HIV and an AIDS activist, said: "This revision shows us a silver lining, because we have been advocating for the rights of PLWHIV for years, and now we know we didn't do it in vain."
According to the health ministry, the estimated number of people living with HIV in China had reached 740,000 by October 2009, with deaths caused by AIDS totalling 49,845 since the first case in 1985.
The statement said the lifting of the ban wouldn't bring an outbreak of disease in the country.
It said scientific research had proved daily contact did not cause infection.
HIV/AIDS is usually transmitted through blood, sex and from mother to infant.
Leprosy, in its many forms, is usually transmitted through skin injuries.
A statement released by the State Council, or Cabinet, said after gaining more knowledge about the diseases in question, the government realized that such bans had a very limited effect in preventing and controlling them in the country.
They had, instead, caused inconvenience for the country when hosting various international activities.
The revision comes three days ahead of the opening of the Shanghai World Expo. The government temporarily lifted the ban for various large-scale events, including the 1990 Beijing Asian Games, the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Mao Qun'an, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said the groundwork for the lifting of the ban began some time ago.
The ministry had been advocating lifting the restriction since the Olympics. It took a few more years only because of the necessary procedures.
The decisions altered regulations for the Border Quarantine Law and the Law on Control of the Entry and Exit of Aliens, which set down the ban in the 1980s.
The previous ban was made in accordance with the "limited knowledge about HIV/AIDS and other diseases," the statement said.
Zhang Beichuan, a medical professor with Qingdao University and a front-runner in advocating the rights of people living with HIV (PLWHIV), said the move was huge progress.
"Previously, China viewed HIV/AIDS as an imported disease related to a corrupted lifestyle," he said. "But now the government is handling it with a public health perspective."
He Tiantian, a woman in her 30s living with HIV and an AIDS activist, said: "This revision shows us a silver lining, because we have been advocating for the rights of PLWHIV for years, and now we know we didn't do it in vain."
According to the health ministry, the estimated number of people living with HIV in China had reached 740,000 by October 2009, with deaths caused by AIDS totalling 49,845 since the first case in 1985.
The statement said the lifting of the ban wouldn't bring an outbreak of disease in the country.
It said scientific research had proved daily contact did not cause infection.
HIV/AIDS is usually transmitted through blood, sex and from mother to infant.
Leprosy, in its many forms, is usually transmitted through skin injuries.
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