New Breed of Activist Braves China's AIDS Crisis

Li Dan, a graduate student from Beijing, has traveled to the remote AIDS-stricken Dongguan Village in Central China with an ambitious proposal: to build a factory to help sick villagers earn money. An official quickly punctures Li's dream: the township government is broke, he says. Finally, the official relents, raising the possibility of offering land or tax breaks.

The new breed of Chinese AIDS activist knows that many local officials continue to deny the existence of AIDS in their villages, so the activists are careful to include the officials in their plans when possible. But they are also courting danger by seeking media attention, applying for foreign funding and coalescing into formal organizations. The problem is enormous. At least one million Chinese are infected with HIV, researchers say. Many impoverished farmers who sold their blood to unlicensed, unsanitary blood banks are now dying.

In January, Li was detained overnight by police who discovered his CD-ROM documenting the plight of villagers in Henan, which Li sent to media and government officials. Li's parents and teachers have urged him to abandon the work, and his girlfriend has threatened to leave him if he doesn't give it up. "The local government is not happy because our work makes it look bad," Li said.

Li has joined a group of like-minded graduate students, journalists and activists to form the Aizhi Action Project. The group envisions lobbying HIV drug makers to lower their prices, setting up poverty-alleviation programs in hard-hit villages, and training volunteers to teach others about the disease and staff a telephone counseling hotline. Their activities reflect a broader government acceptance of independent groups that the supply social services the government does not.

On the journey home from Dongguan, Li says he is optimistic. With local officials on board for the planned factory, his group can now seek funding to build it. He has received more than 100 letters from people who want to volunteer, and he gets regular phone calls from eager donors. Even the policemen who detained him were kind, he says. "They said, 'The work you do is very important.'"

Back to other CDC news for April 2, 2002

Previous Updates