The Chinese Ministry of Health has promised to provide medical care and a living allowance for an eight-year-old HIV-positive boy targeted by villagers for expulsion, state media reported yesterday, in a case that has drawn widespread condemnation.
About 200 residents — including the child’s own grandfather — signed a petition last week to expel him from their village in Sichuan Province to “protect villagers’ health,” sparking anger online at perceived prejudice and ignorance in the countryside.
Beijing has now pledged to ensure the boy, dubbed Kunkun (坤坤) in the media, gets an education after reports he was having trouble finding a school that would take him, the China Daily reported.
The ministry has also pledged to conduct spot checks around China to uncover any other violations of anti-discrimination policies, the state-run paper reported.
The provincial Chinese Communist Party committee is investigating reports of the petition to expel the boy, the Global Times newspaper, with close ties to the party, quoted an unnamed propaganda official as saying.
The boy was left with his grandfather when both his parents quit the impoverished village to seek work and he remains in his grandfather’s care in the village for the present, the Beijing News reported.
It was unclear yesterday whether Kunkun would still face expulsion from the village.
Reactions on social media have been swift to condemn the villagers who signed the petition.
“It’s terrible that the villagers are undereducated, they should be sent to school too,” said one user on Sina Weibo.
Another centered the blame on Kunkun’s parents.
“It’s strange that no one condemns the boy’s parents, who are so irresponsible and can be charged of abandonment crime in foreign countries,” the user wrote.
The UN said it was “deeply concerned” about the case.
“Stigma and discrimination are our biggest enemies in the fight to end HIV, but sadly, this week’s reports demonstrate that breaching confidentiality, ignorance and fear continue to have devastating consequences for those living with HIV,” the UN said in a statement on Friday last week.
The child’s grandfather and guardian, Luo Wenhui (羅文輝), told the Beijing News on Saturday that he had signed the petition to remove Kunkun because he “hoped that it would make things better,” as he would receive better care elsewhere.
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