China Confronts Growing AIDS Problem at Landmark National Conference

China opened its first conference on AIDS Tuesday, promising to dedicate more resources to fighting the disease and to disseminating information throughout the nation. More than 2,700 participants from 20 nations -- doctors, social policy experts, educators and Chinese government officials -- are participating in the four-day conference, which also will explore ways to reduce other STDs across the country. The goal is to slow the growth of new infections to 10 percent per year by 2005. Experts estimate that more than 600,000 Chinese -- in a population of 1.26 billion -- were infected with HIV by the end of 2000. "This is an opportunity to explore the way forward," Zhy Zhongshan, head of the Beijing Health Department, said in an address at the opening ceremony.

AIDS has long been a reluctant subject for the Chinese government, critics say. However, alarm over the 30 percent annual HIV/AIDS growth rate is changing attitudes. In mid-August, Vice Health Minister Yin Dakui chided local officials for not recognizing the dangers of AIDS. China faces "a very serious epidemic of HIV/AIDS," he warned at a rare news conference. Xinhua News Agency described this week's conference as an effort to "spur vigilance against the disease in all corners of Chinese society." UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot said, "It is probably not an exaggeration to say this is a historic event in terms of response to AIDS in China. But all this is clearly not enough yet. . . . There is still a need to break the silence about AIDS in all levels of society and in all places in the whole country."

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