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Phoenix (苦草工作室) is a local, grassroots Chinese organization that provides
services to sex workers living with HIV/AIDS. From June through October, 2010,
Phoenix conducted a community-driven research project to document discrimination
against women living with HIV/AIDS. The result is this report.
In June 2010, we posted this
blog post on how China’s new nonprofit regulations – including new,
stricter regulations on INGOs in China’s Yunnan Province — were affecting
grassroots groups. The essay was reposted to Chinapol (aka C-Pol), an email
list of professionals working on Chinese policy issues. The following
discussion between Asia Catalyst ED, Sara L.M. Davis (also known by her
nickname, Meg) and Shawn Shieh
of Marist College is reprinted here with consent from both.
Shawn Shieh writes:
Meg,
Thanks for writing this up. I’m actually in the middle of translating the
Yunnan regs, so if anyone has the translation already and would be willing to
share, I’d be most grateful.
I had one question and a comment. In your discussion of the Yunnan regs
on foreign NGOs, you note that foreign NGOs will have to apply for approval
with the provincial Civil Affairs and then go on to say that this will make
them [government-organized NGOs, or] GONGOs. I didn’t understand the
connection. How does applying for approval translate into becoming a
GONGO?
From the gleaming airport malls of Beijing to the grittier markets of Yunnan, Asia Catalyst traveled in China to work with local partners on strategic planning and budgeting. On this trip, we spent a few days with Phoenix in Yunnan drafting their plans and budget for the next quarter, and providing some computer training. Phoenix members also lit candles on mid-Autumn festival to commemorate two members who recently died of HIV/AIDS.
By Gisa Hartmann
In response to the rise of drug dependence, China has begun to embrace harm reduction,
scaling up policies such as methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) and needle
exchange programs (NEP) in a growing number of areas. This shift in policy is expressed
in the new Anti-Drug Law, which categorizes drug addiction as a medical condition rather than a criminal issue or moral failing. But how far along is the development of MMT and NEP in China, and what does the state plan
for the future? How do current policies play out for drug users on the ground? This
two-part blog will explore these and related issues.
With some translation assistance from Asia Catalyst, Mr. Ai Khamngen from Yunnan’s Sangha Metta Project (佛光之家 foguangzhijia）won a full scholarship from the International AIDS Society to attend the International AIDS Conference in Vienna. Sangha Metta, located in Yunnan’s Sipsongpanna Tai Autonomous Prefecture, brings together Tai minority Buddhist monks, people living with HIV/AIDS, and community leaders to do AIDS prevention, sex education, and community support work. Theirs is one of the few ethnic-minority-led AIDS programs in China, and is modeled on similar projects in Thailand. Here is his slide presentation.
Please follow this link for his presentation: HIVAIDS care with Buddhism.
