Path-Breaking AIDS Activist Tells of Detention in China

Arrested on Aug. 25 and detained for 31 days at the hands of China's security apparatus, pioneering AIDS activist Dr. Wan Yanhai became the object of worldwide protest that spotlighted the looming AIDS crisis in China. Wan, 38, spoke to the Chronicle Tuesday, his first interview with an American newspaper since the day of his release. He returned last month to Los Angeles, where he shares a home with his wife, Su Zhaosheng. The furor created by Wan's detention may have prompted Chinese authorities to take firmer steps against a disease projected to infect 10 million Chinese by 2010.

Chinese Health Minister Zhang Wenkang said last week the nation was eager to work with foreign AIDS experts. China has acknowledged it has more than 1 million infections and is mulling the manufacture of generic drugs to treat those infected.

"I thought I would be released quite soon," Wan said he initially thought when he arrived at a large, dark Beijing State Security building. Wan remained out of touch with his friends, colleagues and his wife, who worked relentlessly behind the scenes for his release. The food and sanitary conditions were good enough in detention, he said. "I was basically well-treated ... but it was not easy," Wan said.

Wan was detained for revealing "state secrets" when he e-mailed a government report, mysteriously sent to Wan a week before he was detained and addressed to local Communist Party officials, describing AIDS prevention activities and the extent of the epidemic in Henan. He admits the label "secret" appeared below the document's title, and in retrospect, he said, he "made some mistakes" in distributing it.

Upon his release, Wan completed an application for government approval of the Beijing AIDS Action Health Education Institute, a task he worked on right up to his detention. "It is better for our government to understand that we can be friends in the fight against discrimination and AIDS," said Wan. "That is our common goal." The application was approved. "We are now just in the beginning," he said. "It's a new start."

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