Former James Bond actor Sir Roger Moore took aim at hotels and schools in the Chinese capital yesterday for turning away a group of AIDS orphans in town for a three-day summer camp.
Now a UNICEF goodwill envoy visiting China to draw attention to the problems of children orphaned by the country's HIV/AIDS crisis, Moore said Beijing hotels, hostels and schools "should hang their heads in shame" for not helping the 72 children.
Chinese newspapers reported in recent days that the children, attending a UNICEF camp which opened on Tuesday, had been turned away by 30 to 40 hotels or schools.
China estimates it has 840,000 people with HIV/AIDS, but experts say the figure is more likely to be between 1 million and 1.5 million.
The UN says the number could rise to 10 million if the epidemic is not treated seriously.
Some 78,000 children have lost parents to AIDS in China, UNICEF says.
The discrimination reflected widespread misconceptions about HIV/AIDS and how it is transmitted, but Moore said he was hopeful that China could overcome the problem.
"The battle will be won," the actor told a news conference.
"It is an uphill battle, but it will be, and we must get across, with your help, to people that there should be no stigma," Moore said.
Misunderstanding of AIDS in China runs deep, despite recent signs from the central government that it is serious about tackling the problem.
Reports of detention and harassment of AIDS activists continue.
This week the Aizhixing Institute of Health Education said Li Dan, an activist who attended the 15th International AIDS Conference in Bangkok in July, had been detained briefly in the central province of Henan.
Li founded the Orchid School in Shangqiu City, which authorities closed and sealed in July.
Asked about the detention, UNICEF representative Dr Christian Voumard declined to comment directly but said there was a lag in the education process.
"It is a fact, I think, that we should recognize that not everyone yet is really acting in the proper way at all levels, especially the local levels, due, very often, to also some ignorance, a fact that is being addressed now," he said.
A Chinese official said she knew nothing of the detention.
"As for the issue you've just raised, as the responsible department we, and even the Health Ministry, have not heard this news," said Chai Xiaolin of the international department of the Commerce Ministry, which is a partner of UNICEF.
"There are channels for, and ways to carry out AIDS propaganda work," she said.
"I think, if you do it legally and through the right channels, and reflect their true thoughts on AIDS, the whole society, including the government and groups, will give support."
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was