TITLE: The Path of a Rights Activist
BY: China Alliance of People Living with HIV/AIDS
In their recent newsletter, the China Alliance of People living with HIV/AIDS (CAP+) announced publication of a unique testimony report about the work of one of their members, Ms. Ma Guihong, who heads the organization Half the Sky in China’s Hebei Province. With the permission of Ms. Ma and CAP+, we are re-posting the below summary with links to the original Chinese and English full text.
For the past few weekends, I’ve been gradually deleting information from my Facebook account. Each Sunday, a few more photos come down. That’s because I read Rebecca MacKinnon’s call to arms, Consent of the Networked, which shows that Facebook, Twitter, and Google are acquiring the size and power of nation-states, but without the democratic accountability or transparency citizens may demand of the states that govern them. Mackinnon asks, “How do we make sure that people with power over our digital lives will not abuse that power?”
“My boss gave me my money and told me to sign my name. After I signed the receipt, he immediately threw the pen into the trashcan. And that was how I was fired.” We heard this from a Chinese man living with HIV/AIDS, a former drug user, who was fired from his job when his boss found out his status. Around China, people like these are mobilizing to get their voices heard. Some hope to come to Washington D.C. this July for the International AIDS Conference. We need
your support to get them there.
The International AIDS Conference will bring 40,000 people to Washington, including government leaders, UN officials, donors, and pharmaceutical companies. Thousands will march in D.C. to demand access to treatment and demand political action to change policy. Our Chinese colleagues will make new contacts, meet donors, and lobby officials as well as learn from others and find support in the international community.
Beijing grassroots group, Yirenping Center (益仁平中心), has had a busy January organizing anti-discrimination activities with local disability activists! They produced a short report with data about their activities, including links to Chinese media sources. Yirenping Center, established in 2006, is a public interest group that focuses on health and discrimination. Download their report here (PDF).
The views represented by Yirenping Center are not necessarily those of Asia Catalyst.
Korean and international AIDS activists who participated in a peaceful protest against the Free Trade Agreement and for access to AIDS treatment at the International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) were shoved and dragged by the police while trying to prevent the arrest of AIDS lawyer Jang Seo-yeon. Two activists, including a staff person of the ICAAP Local Organizing Committee, were hospitalized. Below is the joint statement from Korean activists and supporters about the incident.
