Positive Lives, Ordinary People: Art and Action in the Fight Against AIDS in China Speeches Vishakha Desai President, Asia Society Thank you and good morning distinguished guests, friends, and colleagues. I am delighted to be here, and I want to extend my very special gratitude to Vice Minister Wang who has come here from Beijing to be with us. I would also like to offer our very special thanks to Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences including President Wang, Executive Vice President Zuo, and Vice President Huang. I also want to take this time to thank Vice Mayor Yang for being here and participating in today's events. I want to say just a few words about why the Asia Society would take on this particular project. Why in China, and why this format? As some of you know, Asia Society, as a multidisciplinary organization that does work in business, culture, education, as well as the policy arena, is dedicated to strengthening relationships between our Asian colleagues and the United States. We firmly believe that knowing about Asia has to be done in a more holistic way, in a way that brings history, past, social issues, and values to bear in terms of current realities because it is in Asia that ancient past and cultural traditions come together and play a dynamic role in the future that seems to be very much a part of this region.

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For this reason, Asia Society has offices not only in New York where we are headquartered but also regional centers throughout the U.S. and Asia. We have a flourishing center in Hong Kong, and we hope to have more connections in an institutional way as we go forward with China. Indeed, we have a small presence in Shanghai which is one of the reasons why we are here. We have been doing a number of different projects with HIV/AIDS as a topic because in 2003, with support from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, we received a grant to not only create awareness about the growing impact of HIV/AIDS but also to convene and build new partnerships to respond to it. This brings me to the second point: Why here? Why in China? And that is that we do believe that this issue of AIDS is not something that is simply one country's issue. This is a global issue, and it requires global attention. We have long had connections with China with a tremendous amount of work being done with businesses, art practices, exhibitions, and other projects. Therefore, we felt that we could bring together these different elements, and that is in fact the intention of this conference. We really believe that AIDS is not an issue that can be looked at in isolation; it is not a nationalist view. It is also an issue that by looking at social factors, economic factors, and cultural factors, we can understand and fight the stigma in a much better way. Why therefore, this particular topic of arts and media? Arts have a way of connecting to people. Stories about real people have a way to connect and make real the issues that otherwise can be looked at only in a statistical way. We realize that AIDS is an issue that must be also looked at medically, it must be prevented, but we also know that the growth rate around the world is such that if we don't fight the stigma and don't fight it collectively, that we will not win this battle against HIV/AIDS. This is the reason why we felt as an institution that we wanted to do something of this sort which would provide a new perspective in looking at the issues around people who are fighting this disease. It is really up to us not only as media representatives but also as policy makers to determine how best we can harness the tremendous power that art can generate and use it towards breaking down stigma and discrimination against HIV/AIDS and toward slowing the spread of this epidemic. I hope that all of you have been able to see the exhibition that is at the Bund 18 accompanying the symposium. I really want to thank Positive Lives and Kevin Ryan for their work in making that exhibition possible here in Shanghai. If you have not been there, I hope that you will go and look at that exhibition as well because it is part of the whole package that we hope will give you a holistic view of this project. The photographs present the face of AIDS with an immediacy that doesn't really come through any other way. That is the reason I hope that through the discussion here and the photographs that we will be able to create a sense of energy in fighting against the stigma that afflicts all countries and all communities. I am grateful that all of you are here. I want to thank a number of people from the Asia Society side, which we will take a moment to do later on at lunch time. I am very proud that Asia Society has been a part of this ground-breaking work in China. Thank you very much for being with us today, and I look forward to our deliberations. Thank you. Wang Ronghua President, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Good morning, Vishakha Desai, President of Asia Society, Wang Longde, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health of People's Republic of China, Yang Xiaodu, Vice Mayor of Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Ladies and Gentlemen. Today, the Asia Society and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences jointly present "Fighting Stigma and Discrimination of HIV/AIDS in China: Media, Art and Social Policy Symposium." On behalf of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, I wish to take this opportunity to thank Asia Society for the effort it has made in putting this symposium together. I salute Vice Minister, Wang Longde and Vice Mayor, Yang Xiaodu for their upcoming speeches and input for this symposium. I also welcome the experts and friends coming from far way for attending this symposium. In this globalized world, mankind faces many new problems. The United Nations has raised eight Millennium Development Goals, and fighting HIV/AIDS is one of them. The Millennium Development Goals focus on the development of human beings and reflect a value trend centering on human beings. Social sciences researchers should use their professional knowledge to intensively study HIV/AIDS issues. Researchers should provide a foundation for governments to aid in developing governmental policies and services for society. For years, people have responded to the challenges of HIV/AIDS-related issues throughout the world. This is long-term, arduous work. The official estimated number of people with HIV/AIDS still does not match the actual number. Most people with HIV/AIDS still could not talk openly about their illness. Therefore, we should look more carefully at this disease and its potential danger. Never has a disease like HIV/AIDS existed in human history; it challenges human wisdom, courage, morality, and what it means to be alive. Stigma and discrimination cause great psychological pressure on those who are unfortunately infected by this disease. Patients fear HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination more than the disease itself. Therefore, eliminating HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination, arousing people's care and support toward the patients within society, and stimulating their courage to participate in social activities to fight against the disease becomes essential. Fighting against HIV/AIDS is necessary for Chinese people to build a harmonious society. The Chinese government has developed a series of policies and has taken effective steps to accomplish this goal. Since 2004, Shanghai has reinforced the work on HIV/AIDS prevention and control. Officials from different government departments have established fine models to fight against stigma. The experts in the fields of law and social science, taking the responsibilities of people and society, respond to HIV/AIDS. China will continue to cooperate with the international community on the work of HIV/AIDS prevention and control. I believe through our united effort, humans will ultimately defeat HIV/AIDS. Thank you again for coming to the symposium. I hope that this symposium will be successful and that you have a good time working and living in Shanghai. Thank you. Plenary Remarks Yang Xiaodu Vice Mayor, Shanghai Municipal People's Government Wang Longde, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health of People's Republic of China, Vishakha Desai, President of Asia Society, Ladies and Gentlemen. Today, the Asia Society and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences jointly present "Fighting Stigma and Discrimination of HIV/AIDS in China: Media, Art and Social Policy Symposium" in Shanghai. The photo exhibition, "Positive Lives, Ordinary People: Art and Action in the Fight Against AIDS" was also successfully launched in this city. These events will have a positive impact on developing a harmonious society in Shanghai and promoting social participation on the work of HIV/AIDS prevention and control. On behalf of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, I wish to congratulate the openings of both the exhibition and the symposium. I would like to welcome the domestic and international experts for participating in these events. I also salute all of you for your contribution in fighting against HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS seriously threatens the existence of mankind. It has spread all over the world and has caused a serious impact on people's health and lives. The Chinese government pays attention to the work of HIV/AIDS prevention and control. The Communist Party and our highest leaders also promote this work. President Hu Jintao pointed out that HIV/AIDS prevention and control is associated with the quality of people and the rise and fall of a nation. Starting with education and accompanied by law, leaders from different government departments should raise awareness and mobilize the society to unremittingly control the spread of HIV/AIDS. Wen Jiabao points out that the State Council has paid much attention to the work on HIV/AIDS prevention and control. The Council has already come up with strategies and plans to implement the Responsibility System. This will reinforce prevention and control strategies and build up infrastructure such as supervision, team construction, scientific methods, and legal management. At the same time, the State Council also requires cadres to summarize the working experience, taking responsibility to implement the work that is associated with the foundation of the nation. The Chinese government solemnly promised the "Four Frees and One Care" policy during the International AIDS Conference in 2004. The Shanghai Municipal People's Government also pays attention to the work of HIV/AIDS prevention and control. Shanghai established the Shanghai AIDS Committee to be in charge of HIV/AIDS prevention and control. In 2004, Shanghai Municipal People's Government specially issued "Notification on Reinforcing the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control." Through establishment of a working mechanism of social participation, the paper promoted health education and activity intervention. The document urged reinforcement of governmental policies and the development of comprehensive prevention and control programs in the community. The paper also advised the strengthening of the social security mechanism and ensuring capital investment to further clarify Shanghai's work on HIV/AIDS prevention and control. We should say that Shanghai has a good foundation of HIV/AIDS prevention and control with good results. However, we also clearly realize that the factors that cause this disease still exist. Shanghai, as a large city, still faces many challenges on HIV/AIDS. To fight stigma and discrimination and develop a positive, supportive environment, we still need to further promote changes in social ideology, spread scientific knowledge, strengthen laws and regulations, and take more effective actions. To complete these steps, we need the involvement of government and community and cooperation between medical agencies and social science academies. The experts from academies of social science and health departments in Shanghai have especially contributed to the fight against HIV/AIDS through cooperation for many years. In February 2004, many experts from academies of social science and health departments fully discussed how Shanghai faces HIV/AIDS during the first meeting of "The Center for HIV/AIDS-related Social Policies Research" at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. It made a great impression. Their cooperation creates a positive impact on individuals and the society as a whole. As a result, the residents of Shanghai are given many advantages. I would like to salute all of the experts in Shanghai for their contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS. Shanghai Municipal People's Government will further support the academic researchers and health department on fighting against HIV/AIDS. The residents will be mobilized and guided to take care of their health and fight against this disease. The government will continue to strengthen the work on fighting against HIV/AIDS by providing capital and human resources. I believe through our effort, Shanghai will better fight against HIV/AIDS and provide a healthy living and working environment for people. At last, I would like to congratulate in advance the success of the symposium and the exhibition. Thank you. Keynote Address Wang Longde Vice Minister, Ministry of Health, People's Republic of China Guests, Ladies, Gentlemen, and Friends, I am pleased to participate in this important symposium and to briefly introduce current activities in eliminating HIV/AIDS-related stigma in China. Since the first case of HIV/AIDS was diagnosed, stigma has been associated with HIV/AIDS. This stigma seriously affects the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS and their families. Stigmatization has also been a barrier to our efforts to fight the spread of this disease. HIV/AIDS-related stigma is a global issue, and China is no exception. Through many years of effort, China has made significant progress to improve this situation. However, stigmatization still remains an important issue in the response to HIV/AIDS. I would like to use the time that I have been granted today to talk to you about the four strategies and methods that the Chinese government has used to fight against HIV/AIDS-related stigma. These four aspects are political commitment, law enforcement, government policy, and social marketing and community mobilization. A steadfast political commitment is essential to the fight against HIV/AIDS. The pictures that everyone sees on the screen show that President Hu Jintao visited HIV/AIDS patients in Youan Hospital. He emphasized that the whole society should be full of love for HIV/AIDS patients. Chinese people should have the determination to eliminate stigma and discrimination and should initiate many kinds of care programs to help those infected by this disease. China's highest political leader visited and talked with the HIV/AIDS patients at Youan Hospital. By doing so, he demonstrated to the Chinese populace that HIV is not transmitted by daily contact. Public demonstrations of this kind can have a profound effect on reducing HIV/AIDS-related stigma in China. These pictures show that on the eve of the Spring Festival, Premier Wen Jiaobao went to the epidemic region in Henan to examine the work of prevention and treatment programs. He also visited HIV/AIDS patients and their families to celebrate the Spring Festival and took photos with AIDS orphans as well as elders. In 2004, before the World AIDS Conference in Thailand, Premier Wen published his paper, "Multi-Sector Strategies to Prevent and Control HIV/AIDS." In this paper, he emphasized the importance of extensive education and social marketing, treatment and care of HIV/AIDS patients, and protection of HIV-positive people's legal rights in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Vice Premier Wu Yi who is in charge of sanitation-related work, underlines her care and support for the HIV/AIDS patients. At the National HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment Conference in June 2004, she emphasized that all relevant government departments should fully and carefully implement the "Four Frees and One Care" policy. Revised in 2004, the "Law on Prophylaxis and Treatment of Communicable Diseases in People's Republic of China" is the first law in China to eliminate social discrimination against people with infectious diseases. The law requires no discrimination against people who have infectious diseases or those who are carriers. It reflects the respectful attitude of the Chinese government and protects the legal rights of patients with infectious diseases. The law also requires that, in fulfilling their obligations, organizations that work towards disease prevention and control are not permitted to disclose confidential information about individuals. At the same time, the law requires that if this article is violated, organizations and/or individuals in disease control agencies will be punished at different levels. The government is currently drafting the first HIV/AIDS Act. In the HIV/AIDS Act it is clearly stated that the rights of HIV-infected people and their family members should be protected. This means that they should not suffer any discrimination as a result of being HIV-positive. The Ministry of Health presented a draft of the Act to the State Council last month, and it is expected that the Act will be approved and implemented within the year. The Chinese government established the "Four Frees and One Care" policy to emphasize HIV/AIDS prevention and control to fight against its related stigma. The "Four Frees and One Care" policy reduces the HIV/AIDS related stigma. The policy includes 1) Free Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT); 2) Free ARV drugs to AIDS patients who are rural residents or people with financial difficulties living in urban areas; 3) Free ARV drugs to HIV infected pregnant women to prevent mother-to-child transmission, and HIV testing of newborn babies; 4) Free schooling for children orphaned by AIDS; 5) Care and economic assistance to the households of people living with HIV/AIDS. According to the policy, HIV/AIDS affected people are given necessary economic assistance, and those who can still be productive are encouraged to continue working to increase their income. The Chinese government developed a series of policies related to HIV/AIDS. These policies helped reduce HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination and have provided support to people living with HIV/AIDS. To fully implement these polices, relevant governmental sectors also issued detailed implementation plans in response. We should say that poor understanding of HIV/AIDS is the primary factor to cause fear and stigma. In April 2004, the Chinese government hired the Horizon Group to conduct a nation-wide research on the HIV/AIDS situation in China. Of course, the results of the investigation are from a year ago. During one year, the situation of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in China has changed immensely. However, these results still generally reflect the lack of HIV/AIDS-related knowledge in China. At that time, HIV/AIDS knowledge was widely heard yet superficially learned. The Horizon Group study found that 40.8% of people who were interviewed could not distinguish the difference between HIV-positive people and AIDS patients. Only 40.2% of people knew that the HIV virus could be tested; 48.8% of people knew that holding hands would not transmit the HIV virus. Only 57.1% and 50.2% people knew that working and eating with an HIV-positive person would not spread the virus. As many as 59.8% of people were not willing to work with people who had HIV/AIDS. Only 17.1% of people knew that there were drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission; 7.8% of people knew that one of the purposes of using a condom is to protect themselves from getting the disease. However, over 90% of people showed their support for the "Four Frees and One Care" policy. This situation has changed dramatically during the year. However, social marketing to improve HIV/AIDS-related knowledge remains the most important tool to fight HIV/AIDS. The pictures on the screen show that we are conducting extensive social marketing programs. We have also hired many celebrities, taking advantage of their fame and popularity to raise people's awareness about HIV/AIDS. We have invited HIV-positive people to join the team to educate the populace as well. Last year, we printed 4 million copies of AIDS posters for every village, school and community in China. We also organized teams to perform nationally to spread HIV/AIDS knowledge. These are (pictures) taken from Shanxi DaPengChe and Hebei Dachang. We invited some celebrities in literary, arts and sports circles such as Cunxin Pu, Wenli Jiang, Yao Ming, Magic Johnson etc. to be the public figures of HIV/AIDS awareness. This type of HIV campaign raised a great response among young people. Pengfei Song and Ziliang Liu who were infected by HIV were also invited to participate in social activities. Ziliang Liu set out from Beijing to cycle around the country on his own HIV campaign. This series of related activities effectively fought against HIV/AIDS-related stigma. At the same time, time has demonstrated that the "Four Free and One Care" policy has dramatically reduced stigma and discrimination in the community. In China CARES sites, parents of children from families who are HIV-negative now allow their children to play with children from families with HIV/AIDS and AIDS orphans. A study carried out in Anhui Province by the China CDC in 2004 indicated that after the social marketing and education activities conducted since the end of 2003, people have more comprehensive and correct knowledge about HIV/AIDS. They are less afraid of people carrying HIV. This is a change perceived by a husband of an HIV-positive woman. He said that people were dared not to have contact with people living with HIV/AIDS. However, through the current, prevalent social marketing campaign, most people now understand this disease and dare to have daily contact with patients. In Hubei, many villagers came to the tea shops that were opened by people with HIV/AIDS for chatting and drinking tea. This phenomenon reflects a great psychological change. Stigma and discrimination are still very much a problem in our society. Though we have developed some laws and regulations for protecting the rights and interests of HIV-positive people, it is essential to fully implement these laws and regulations and to further improve them operationally. In addition, education about HIV/AIDS should be strengthened so that the community is mobilized to act against discriminating behavior. In the past two decades, the world community has gained a lot of experience in combating HIV-related stigma. We are eager to learn from different experiences. We hope that we can work together to reduce stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS and eventually defeat this devastating epidemic. Thank you. Copyright © 2004. Asia Society. All rights reserved. Please click here for legal restrictions and terms of use applicable to this site and Asia Society's Privacy Policy.