Speed, Social Mobility of China's Economic Growth Could Help Spread AIDS, UN Official Warns

Members of the increasingly affluent middle class that is powering China's growth can carry AIDS up the economic ladder from poorer environments where infections spread most rapidly, a UN official warned Tuesday at the nation's first-ever AIDS conference. The problem, common in such countries as Vietnam and Cambodia, poses a particular danger in China because of its huge population and unprecedented decade-long economic awakening, according to Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS. "That is the other side of development," Piot said. "Wealth is often associated with the fact that people think they can buy anything -- including sex."

The conference kickoff was uniquely Chinese -- equal parts sloganeering, socialistic optimism and synchronized spectacle. Young girls in white dresses waved glowing green batons and a violinist's strings introduced a pop duet's bright ode. Public service ads depicted the dangers of unprotected sex in the big city as slides flashed China's new slogans: "AIDS: I care, do you?" and "Together, we can." Near a long row of officials stood a 25-foot inflatable condom wearing sunglasses.

Speakers at the opening ceremony and at a subsequent news conference stressed the importance of distributing information and described the mass media as a crucial player. However, reporters were barred from the conference itself, reflecting the government's continuing ambivalence. That hesitation, some participants said, must end as the battle to contain AIDS grows into a priority for China. "What we need most at the moment is a better awareness of the urgency," said Dai Zhicheng, deputy director of the China Preventative Medicine Association, a non-governmental organization. "From the cities to the villages, we need every single person to understand the problem of AIDS."

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