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On July 5^th, China convened the first meeting of the Red Ribbon Forum, a gathering of government officials, NGOs and experts to discuss AIDS and human rights concerns. Mark Heywood, the chair of the UNAIDS Theme Group on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, delivered a speech calling for more space for civil society. During an intense - and in China, unprecedented - discussion period, civil society representatives raised frank concerns about a range of human rights issues, including ongoing restrictions on civil society, and demands for compensation for the blood scandal that transmitted HIV to thousands of villagers. The full text of Heywood's speech follows.