Chinese ex-prisoner sues medical centre after he was misdiagnosed as HIV-positive

Source：South China Morning Post

A man is suing a medical centre in northern China for damages after he was wrongly diagnosed as HIV-positive, according to a newspaper report.

Liu Jianguo, 57 was told he had the virus by the city’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention while he was serving a prison sentence in Sanmenxia in Henan province 11 years ago, the Beijing Times reported.

He was later moved to share a jail cell with another HIV-positive prisoner and began to take Aids drugs in 2011, according to the article.

But a year later tests performed by the same agency at another city in Henan, Zhumadian, said he did not have the virus. More

21/4/2016

China promotes self-testing kits to boost HIV battle

Source:China.org

The development was disclosed by the nation's leading AIDS specialist in an exclusive interview with China Daily.

Wu Zunyou said all possible outlets, from online shopping platforms to brick-and-mortar drugstores, would be approached in the initiative, which is scheduled to begin soon, although no starting date has been released.

Despite policy restraints, "we will pilot and then promote HIV self-testing by making the kits easily accessible", said Wu, head of the National Center for AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Disease Control and Prevention.

"Current screening practices appear to have lost momentum in detecting patients."

China's health authorities have long urged the public to seek free HIV screening at the 2,000 government-operated voluntary counseling and testing clinics nationwide.

However, many people are reluctant to be tested, fearing their HIV status will be confirmed and become widely known, which could result in discrimination.

Wu hopes the greater anonymity offered by the new outlets will encourage more people to be tested. More

21/4/2016

New hiv testing project targets groups most at risk

Source: ChinaDaily

Almost every day for the past seven years, "Old" Peng has visited a hillside pavilion in Beijing's Dongdan Park.

The 60-something gay man is usually looking for a casual sexual encounter, but he also spends time listening to gay men who are struggling with their sexual orientation, and distributing condoms and tips on how to prevent becoming infected with HIV.

The park, 2 km east of Tian'anmen Square, has long been a popular venue for gay men from across China looking to land a date and experience a sense of belonging, according to Peng.

In recent years, an increasing number of young gay men have moved from physical meeting places to gay dating sites, and now about two-thirds of the men who regularly visit the park are middle-aged or older.

The move to the internet is one of Peng's biggest concerns: "It makes it even harder now to reach young gay men and provide AIDS intervention, but the HIV epidemic is exploding among them."

"An HIV epidemic is exploding among the nation's gay men population," Wu warned. More

29/4/2016

HIV-Positive Man Suspended by Employer Files for Labor Arbitration

Source: SIXTH TONE

An HIV-positive man who was suspended by his employer last December filed for labor arbitration on Thursday. His case was accepted by the Guangzhou Labor Dispute Arbitration Court the same day.

The man, a 27-year-old who asked to be identified by the nickname Ming, and who identifies as gay, worked for a quasi-governmental organization in Guangzhou, the capital of southern Guangdong province. 

Ming’s lawyer, Qiu Hengyu, told Sixth Tone that he believes the case constitutes employment discrimination. He said The 2008 Employment Promotion Law states that an employer shall not refuse to recruit any person with the reason that they are a carrier of an infectious disease.More

28/4/2016

China passes new laws on foreign NGOs amid international criticism

Source: BBC

China has passed new laws on foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) state media said, amid criticism.

The full text was not immediately available, but previous drafts stated that NGOs would have to submit to police supervision and declare sources of funding.

Critics say the laws amount to a crackdown, but China has argued that such regulation is long overdue.

There are currently more than 7,000 foreign NGOs operating in China.

The bill has undergone several drafts after international criticism that it was too onerous. The White House has said the bill will "further narrow space for civil society" and constrain US-China exchanges.