China: AIDS Patient Receives Compensation

The education bureau of Jinxian County, China, agreed to pay a former teaching applicant 45,000 yuan ($7,228) in damages because the bureau allegedly turned him down after a pre-employment health check found he was HIV-infected. The settlement represents the first time an HIV-infected Chinese citizen has received compensation in an HIV employment discrimination suit, according to Cheng Yuan, director of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Tianxiogong. The NGO targets discrimination against people with hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, and disabilities.

Xiao Qi (pseudonym) initiated the milestone anti-discrimination suit against the education bureau in November 2012, and the parties reached agreement December 27 in local court mediation. In exchange for the payment, Xiao Qi agreed to drop discrimination charges against the education bureau.

China's 2006 Regulations on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment protect the marriage, employment, medical treatment, and education rights of HIV-infected people and their relatives. According to China's Ministry of Health, there were 492,191 reported cases of HIV among the country's 1.3 billion people in October 2012, and an estimated total of 780,000 HIV-infected people in China.

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