With World AIDS Day about to come, Chinese human rights activist Hu Jia is initiating an appeal to China’s health authorities to offer more help for the people infected with the fatal disease.
On Nov. 24 Hu and another rights activist, Miaojue, a Buddhist nun, accompanied AIDS patient Tian Xi and his mother to the Ministry of Health to file an appeal for reimbursement. They waited from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., but the Health Ministry officials would not accept any of their documents. In an interview with Ming Pao on Nov. 25, Hu articulated his dissatisfaction. “Despite my earnest pleading, they always answered like a machine: ‘go to the Office of Letters and Calls.’”
A renowned activist for the rights of AIDS patients, Hu was once charged with “subversion of state power” and jailed for three and a half years. he has made a civic plea for AIDS patients, first time since he was released from jail on June 25, 2011. He is now subject to one year of regular watch, and is traced and videotaped by Domestic Security police.
Tian Xi, 23, contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion. He did not get any compensation and instead was imprisoned for a year after protesting. According to Hu, Tian has been emotionally unbalanced since he was released. Hu has stated that he is extremely dissatisfied that the Chinese Communist authorities have lost ground on the AIDS issue.
Hu informed Ming Pao that the free medicine specified to AIDS patients by local governments is imperfect and not helpful after 3-5 years.