Source: China AIDS Email Group
The case of 28 year-old plaintiff, Xiao Su, was formally accepted on April 16, 2012. Xiao Su alleges that after renting out an apartment, he was blackmailed by his tenant, Peng, over Xiao Su’s status as a person living with HIV/AIDS, or PLWHA Xiao Su’s court case alleges significant impacts on his personal life after being exposed as a PLWHA in the local community. Xiao Su filed this case with the Han Yang District People’s Court, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, to stop the infringement of his private property and privacy rights. He has demanded an apology and CNY 10,000 RMB [approximately US $1,590] in compensation for psychological damages.
In China, getting a case legally accepted by a court can be challenging when the case relates to HIV/AIDS, as Asia Catalyst’s recent report China’s Blood Disaster: The Way Forward points out. Chang Kun, the director of Aibo Legal Aid Center, said, “Currently China’s HIV/AIDS program is prevention and control-oriented rather than rights-based, and thus lacks respect for the rights of PLWHA.” Ru Wulian, program staff from the International Labor Organization, Beijing Office, pointed out: “This is a case that shows the public ignorance on the right to privacy, which causes various forms of rights abuse for people living with HIV/AIDS in China.”
This case comes on the heels of court cases in 2011 about discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS, most prominently by an aspiring teacher in Anhui Province.
