• CHINA PROGRAM
• ASIA REPORT
  
• PAST PROJECTS

Asia Catalyst is assisting the Center with building institutional capacity, strategic planning, staff management, budgeting and fundraising. We also assist with international outreach and research on issues of concern to the center. Our report, AIDS Blood Scandals: What China Can Learn from the World's Mistakes, was written in response to requests from the Korekata Center for information about how countries other than China have handled legal issues relating to contamination of the blood supply. The report was widely reported in English and in Chinese, and sparked policy reforms in China's blood regulatory system.

The Center places a high value on learning from and working with international partners. It translates AIDS law articles from around the world into Chinese, and hosts workshops in China featuring experts on AIDS law from India, South Africa and elsewhere. Korekata, the center’s name, honors Kojima Korekata (儿岛惟谦), lawyer and later chief justice of Japan’s Supreme Court. In the late 19^th century, Justice Korekata’s work established the independence of Japanese courts, and his cases were among the earliest to promote judicial independence and respect for rule of law in Asia.

In summer 2009, the Center will begin to take on the tasks performs itself, and Asia Catalyst will move into an advisory role. At that time, Asia Catalyst will seek additional partners for incubation.

Research
Asia Catalyst graduate researchers conduct research and write reports on priority human rights issues for our local partners, placing these issues in a global context. These carefully-researched reports examine how other countries have handled the same problems, successfully or otherwise, and make tailored recommendations to the Chinese government, international donors, international agencies, and NGOs. The reports are released in English and Chinese simultaneously. Our first report, AIDS Blood Scandals: What China Can Learn from the World's Mistakes, sparked policy changes in China.

Haven Program
Based on recommendations by local peer advocates, in summer 2008 Asia Catalyst is placing a small group of grassroots AIDS advocates from Chinain short-term fellowships at AIDS NGOs in Hong Kong, Malaysia, India and the U.S. These fellowships provide AIDS advocates with the opportunity to learn from and build relationships with more established NGOs, and give international allies a deeper understanding of AIDS in China.

Outreach and Events
To share our research, and showcase our partners’ work, Asia Catalyst holds events in New York. These include panel discussions, film screenings, and film festivals, such as the Chinese LGBT Film Festival (September 5-7, 2008). Asia Catalyst also aims to provide a “home away from home” for Chinese grassroots activists visiting New York, including networking and meeting help, translation, and emergency assistance. In the future, our office will include working space for visiting guests from local partner groups in China.

ASIA REPORT

Based on a survey of grassroots Chinese nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), we learned that Chinese groups are very interested in learning about and connecting with peer organizations in Asia. In response, Asia Catalyst is developing a Chinese-language blog that will report on news and activism about social, economic and cultural rights in Asian countries other than China. This platform will enable Chinese grassroots NGOs to learn about and make contact with groups working on the environment, HIV/AIDS, women's rights, and related issues in East, South, and Southeast Asia. The site will launch in September 2008.