By Meg Davis
At 5 pm, the crowd began to assemble
on the square in front of the Messe Wien convention center. Some handed out
signs reading “Broken promises kill” or “we are watching” over photos of giant
eyeballs. Others wrestled in the wind with a black-and-white banner reading “No
retreat, fund AIDS.”
Two of our colleagues from China stood
and stared, astounded. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said one. The other
pulled out his camera and started snapping pictures of everything. A parade of
red umbrellas trooped out, with protesters carrying them chanting “sex work is
work!” And then, from the crowd, came a small line of Chinese gay rights
activists carrying a banner that read in English and Chinese, “P.R. China
Government, Keep Your Promises.”
From above us, standing on a stone
ledge, a man called out in excitement, “Hey, China’s in the house!” The group
of Chinese activists stood smiling side by side behind the banner while the
cameras whirred and clicked, and beckoned us over to stand beside them with the
Asia Catalyst banner. We were proud to do so. It wasn’t the loudest protest on the plaza, but it may have been the most courageous one.
China is definitely in the house.
Despite the overwhelming cost of travel to Vienna, there is finally a small but
active group of activists here from around the country. Some came under their own steam; we’re supporting
another group of 6 Chinese AIDS activists, plus a translator who is a LGBT
rights activist himself and who has been enormously helpful in helping people to
get around the city. Our support ranges according to individual needs, from a
full scholarship with daily help getting to the conference for one man who has
never left China before, to just a local SIM card and map of the city for
another who’s an old hand.
With help from our three old friends at
Korekata AIDS Law Center, we spent early Saturday morning cursing at pieces of
tape, and now have set up and are staffing a small but neat and colorful Asia
Catalyst booth in the Global Village (an area in the conference hall where
NGOs, donors and others have exhibits). It’s becoming a meeting spot and nice
way to connect with dozens of colleagues from around the world. At the booth,
we’re handing out copies of our human rights mission kit, posters, and info from
Chinese and Thai AIDS NGOs.
The recent move by Chinese AIDS
activist Wan Yanhai from China to the U.S., along with advocacy by many others
inside China and out, has created a new level of interest by donors and UN
officials in meeting with and learning about Chinese AIDS NGOs. We’re taking
advantage of that to set up as many meetings as we can for the delegation, and
encouraging them to seize every opportunity to meet new people, hand out their
materials, and ask questions of speakers. The program kicks into high gear
tomorrow, with meetings and talks from 9 am until well after 9 pm. We’ll have
more updates soon.
