[NEWS] Guangdong Province Ends Mandatory HIV Testing for Teaching Candidates

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By Mikaela Chase

Guangdong Province appears likely to be the first province in China to end mandatory HIV testing for prospective teachers. Currently, teaching candidates must take an HIV test as part of the required physical examination for teachers. Those who test positive for HIV/AIDS are effectively disqualified and banned from working in the education sector. On May 27, the Guangzhou provincial education department made public their revised health standards; as of September 1, people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) will be able to work as teachers (along with other previously excluded groups, including applicants with physical disabilities). The issue of employment discrimination against PLWHA in China received international attention this January, when the Nanjing-based nonprofit Justice for All obtained compensation for the plaintiff in the first ever successful AIDS employment lawsuit.

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[COMMENTARY] On the Measures on the Administration of Internet Information Services／关于《互联网信息服务管理办法（修订草案征求意见稿）》的意见

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To:The National Internet Information Office,Ministry
of Industry and Information Technology 
国家互联网信息办公室、工业和信息化部：

In response to the Notice of Soliciting Public Comment on the Measures on the Administration of Internet Information Services (Draft for Public Comment)
issued by the two departments on June 7, 2012, I set out below my comment.

根据二〇一二年六月七日两部门发布的”关于《互联网信息服务管理办法（修订草案征求意见稿）》公开征求意见的通知”（以下简称”征求意见的通知”），兹提出如下意见。

Section 1 of Article 15 of the Measures on the Administration of Internet Information Services (Draft for Public Comment) (hereinafter referred to as “the Draft”) stipulates that any Internet information service provider which provides services of Internet users disseminating information to the public should require any of the Internet users to register real identity information. 

随同征求意见的通知公布的《互联网信息服务管理办法（修订草案征求意见稿）》（以下简称”征求意见稿”）第十五条第一款规定，”提供由互联网用户向公众发布信息服务的互联网信息服务提供者，应当要求用户用真实身份信息注册。”

对此，我基于如下所述理由提出删除该款规定的意见。

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[NEWS] Global Times Condemns Forced Labor in Drug Detention Centers

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According to official statistics over 171,000 drug users underwent forced drug treatment, in China, in 2011 alone. While a joint statement cosigned by 12 UN bodies in March 2012 calling for “States to close compulsory drug detention and rehabilitation centers” did not force China to close its drug treatment centers, a highly critical article from the Global Times, an official media outlet, may point to a shift in the right direction.

The article highlighted personal stories of drug users and NGOs like Asia Catalyst’s partner the Dongzhen Nalan Culture Communication Center, praising reforms including promoting counseling and community rehabilitation.

[COMMENTARY] Police Crackdowns in China: The Health and Human Rights of Sex Workers

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The following is a cross post from the Health and Human Rights Journal. The journal and blog provide a forum for action-oriented dialogue among human rights practitioners.

By Meg Davis

Chinese authorities hold periodic sweeps to detain sex workers, drug users, and other ‘social undesirables’ en masse in advance of national holidays and major government conferences. Sex workers, including feminist activist Ye Haiyan (also known as Hooligan Sparrow) are increasingly vocal in raising concerns about the effects of these raids, highlighting the hardships faced by the lowest-paid sex workers.

In the often-heated international debate about criminal penalties on sex work, we rarely hear the voices of sex workers themselves.  But in China, a new network representing Chinese sex workers says that police crackdowns don’t stop sex work – they only drive sex workers further underground, putting them at higher risk of violence and HIV/AIDS.

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[NEWS] Fighting Air Pollution with Transparency in China

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By Mike Frick

 

One of the first thing many visitors to Beijing notice is the smog, which on bad days can obscure buildings, force people to stay indoors or even ground planes at Beijing’s Capital Airport. In a new piece in The Guardian, Zhong Nanshan, President of the China Medical Association, said that air pollution will soon become the biggest health threat in China.

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