Visa rejection triggers calls to lift HIV ban
- Source: Global Times
- [01:12 March 10 2010]
- Comments
The refusal allegedly was based on the fact that the writer, Robert Dessaix, 65, is HIV-positive.
By Zou Le in Beijing and Duan Wuning in Shanghai
Chinese experts said Tuesday that authorities should lift the long time visa ban against HIV-positive foreigners who want to visit China, days after a renowned Australian writer was refused permission to travel to Shanghai for a literary festival.
The refusal allegedly was based on the fact that the writer, Robert Dessaix, 65, is HIV-positive.
"The restriction equals discrimination," Li Dun, a professor at Tsinghua University Center for Study of Contemporary China, told the Global Times Tuesday.
Dessaix, who won several awards including the Margaret Scott Prize in 2007, was scheduled to attend several literary and cultural events, including the Shanghai International Literary Festival that kicked off Friday, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Saturday.
He was scheduled to do a public interview with Australia's ambassador to China Geoff Raby. It was reported that Dessaix has never been to China and that he openly declared his HIV status on his visa application.
Dessaix told reporters he felt "snubbed and insulted, of course, and also humiliated."
Tina Kanagaratnam, founder of the festival that started in Shanghai, confirmed to the Global Times that Dessax's appearances were cancelled but declined to discuss the issue.
The Ministry of Health did not comment on the issue.
Li from Tsinghua has been a participant and consultant for the government's policy making in terms of AIDS prevention and other relevant fields in China, since 1990.
Li said the restriction against people with HIV started in the 1980s when people had insufficient knowledge about the disease and how it is transmitted.
"Historically speaking, confining people has proven to be ineffective, if not meaningless, in preventing the spread of this disease," Li added.
Zhang Tiankan, a former researcher at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, agreed with Li, but added that China needs to take "supplementary measures" in dealing with the HIV-positive visitors, such as the potential medical costs.
Under current regulations, foreigners visiting China on a short-term basis must declare they are free of HIV and those who want to stay longer must undergo a blood test.
Despite the restriction, China granted a special waiver to people with HIV/AIDS during the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing.
The same policy would also apply to visitors to the Shanghai Expo, said Huang Jiefu, a vice minister of health.
