China: Expanding Crackdown on Health Websites

 
(New York, March 6, 2008) - Chinese authorities have shut down two popular websites for people with AIDS and hepatitis, and threatened the shutdown of a third unless it removes “illegal information”, Asia Catalyst said today. China should allow AIDS and hepatitis groups free access to the internet to fight the epidemics.

“The internet is a lifeline to thousands of people suffering from AIDS and hepatitis around China,” said Sara Davis, executive director of Asia Catalyst. “Shutting down websites will only drive those people further underground.”

Over the past three months, the ring of web censorship has gradually widened. All of the sites affected are operated by grassroots Chinese nonprofit organizations. While officials have acknowledged the need for civil society in the fight against AIDS, in practice organizations often face restrictions.

• On November 20, 2007, the Beijing Communications Administration ordered the shutdown of www.hbvhbv.com, a popular forum known as “In the Hepatitis B Camp Network of China”. Registered users share information, including warnings about the fake hepatitis medicines that proliferate in China. The forum is run by Beijing Yirenping, a health and welfare organization.

• On February 26, authorities shut down the AIDS Museum site (www.aidsmuseum.net), an AIDS news site, and www.aidswiki.cn, a collaborative “wiki” through which AIDS advocates shared news and drafted articles. According to its host, AIDS advocate Chang Kun, the site has boasted 300,000 visits since its establishment six months ago.

• On March 5, China’s leading independent AIDS organization, Aizhixing, was warned to remove unspecified “illegal information” from its website, www.aizhi.net, and the site was intermittently shut down on March 5.

• The web crackdown follows on the arrest of AIDS and civil rights advocate Hu Jia, who was detained in December and charged with “inciting state subversion.” His wife, Zeng Jinyan, and their baby both remain under house arrest. In a public statement, Aizhixing suggested their website troubles could be linked to reports on their site about Hu Jia.

“The crackdown on AIDS and hepatitis groups is having a chilling effect,” Davis said. “Many groups are becoming increasingly afraid to do their normal work.”

Widespread stigma and discrimination has driven many people with HIV/AIDS and hepatitis underground in China, making the internet the only way anonymous users can connect with peers to gain basic information about their health and legal rights. There are an estimated 130 million people carrying hepatitis B virus in China. Officially China admits to having 650,000 people with HIV/AIDs, though independent experts believe the number may be higher.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which China has signed and ratified, guarantees everyone the right to health, including the right to access health information. China’s national laws, including the AIDS Prevention Regulations, call for information on AIDS to be made available on the internet.

“Shutting down websites doesn’t make epidemics disappear,” Davis said. “As many Chinese officials have acknowledged, we need civil society in the fight against AIDS and hepatitis.”

Asia Catalyst partners with activists in Asia to inspire, create and launch innovative, self-sustaining programs and organizations that advance human rights, social justice and environmental protection. For more information, please see www.asiacatalyst.org.