Taiwanese Officials Investigating Whether Gay Men Deliberately Spread AIDS at Orgy

Partygoers who knew they were HIV-positive attending a sex-and-drugs party last week in Taipei could face criminal charges, Health Minister Chen Chien-jen said this week. Nearly one-third of the 92 men detained at the party in a Taipei apartment on Saturday tested HIV-positive. Police raided the party on reports that the illegal drug Ecstasy was being used and made arrests after finding the drug there.

"We respect the human rights of people with AIDS, but I hope that at the same time we're respecting their rights, each person will take care of himself and be concerned about others," Chen said. Chen did not specify what charges the men could face.

Of the 28 attendees who tested HIV-positive, only 14 were on the government's list of HIV-infected people, the China Times and Daily News, two of Taiwan's biggest newspapers, reported Wednesday on their front pages. TV footage from the scene showed the floor littered with used and unused condoms.

"There are 64 people who might have already been infected, but it's still too early for the tests to be definitive," Chen said. "So we've already set a time for them to be tested again" in three months. Chen did not say how the courts would punish those who knowingly infected others with HIV.

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