{"id":142357,"date":"2012-08-28T09:29:48","date_gmt":"2012-08-28T16:29:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=142357"},"modified":"2012-08-28T11:16:50","modified_gmt":"2012-08-28T18:16:50","slug":"aids-patients-topple-government-gate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/08\/aids-patients-topple-government-gate\/","title":{"rendered":"AIDS Patients Topple Government Gate"},"content":{"rendered":"
As the AIDS mortality rate in China has dropped, other reports found people with AIDS in China were denied hospital care<\/a>. The Associated Press reports about 300 patients and their relatives toppled the main gate of a government building at a protest due to unmet demands for financial assistance<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n Protester Li Xia said police in Zhengzhou city beat some of the patients with batons after the group gathered outside the Henan provincial government office and blocked the main gate to demand a meeting with officials. She said one protester was dragged into the government building by police.<\/p>\n “We want the government to give us some help,” said Li, who like many of the protesters was infected with HIV when she sold blood in 1995. Tens of thousands of people contracted the virus that causes AIDS in a blood-selling scandal in Henan in the 1990s that is widely seen as a failure of government leadership.<\/p>\n Collectors paid villagers to give their blood, pooled it without testing for HIV or anything else, extracted the valuable plasma then re-injected the blood back into those who sold it. Officials covered up the problem for years, which allowed HIV to spread when people were unknowingly infected from tainted transfusions at hospitals.<\/p>\n Officials at the Zhengzhou city government propaganda office and the city’s police bureau refused to comment. A woman who answered the phone at the Henan provincial government office denied that there had been a protest.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As the blood-selling scandal continues to affect China, a man was reportedly pricked by an HIV infected needle inside a taxi<\/strong><\/a>. From China Daily:<\/p>\n According\u00a0to\u00a0Beijing\u00a0News, 37-year-old\u00a0Xu\u00a0Tian\u00a0(not\u00a0his\u00a0real\u00a0name)\u00a0got\u00a0into\u00a0a\u00a0taxi\u00a0in\u00a0Haidian district\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0capital\u00a0on\u00a0Tuesday\u00a0night.\u00a0Sitting\u00a0on\u00a0the\u00a0backseat,\u00a0he\u00a0felt\u00a0a\u00a0sting\u00a0on\u00a0his\u00a0leg\u00a0when he\u00a0lifted\u00a0it.<\/p>\n He\u00a0took\u00a0the\u00a0syringe\u00a0to\u00a0Chaoyang\u00a0District\u00a0Center\u00a0for\u00a0Disease\u00a0Control\u00a0and\u00a0Prevention\u00a0on Wednesday.\u00a0He\u00a0later\u00a0found\u00a0the\u00a0fluid\u00a0contained\u00a0HIV.<\/p>\n A\u00a0doctor,\u00a0surnamed\u00a0Jiang,\u00a0at\u00a0the\u00a0department\u00a0of\u00a0sexually\u00a0transmitted\u00a0diseases\u00a0and\u00a0AIDS detection\u00a0at\u00a0the\u00a0center,\u00a0confirmed\u00a0to\u00a0China\u00a0Daily\u00a0on\u00a0Friday\u00a0that\u00a0a\u00a0man\u00a0came\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0center\u00a0with a\u00a0syringe\u00a0at\u00a0about\u00a03\u00a0pm\u00a0on\u00a0Wednesday,\u00a0saying\u00a0he\u00a0was\u00a0punctured\u00a0by\u00a0it.<\/p>\n Jiang\u00a0said\u00a0there\u00a0was\u00a0“very\u00a0little\u00a0light\u00a0yellow\u00a0fluid”\u00a0left\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0cap\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0syringe\u00a0barrel,\u00a0and\u00a0the center\u00a0took\u00a0a\u00a0sample\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0fluid\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0needle\u00a0cap,\u00a0and\u00a0found\u00a0it\u00a0was\u00a0HIV\u00a0antibody\u00a0positive\u00a0after a\u00a0quick\u00a0test.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n