Sat, Dec 02, 2006 page2

• AIDS prejudice remains widespread across nation

  NAMED AND SHAMED Despite the efforts of the government and activists, a number of recent cases highlight the extent of fear and intolerance

  • By Angelica Oung / STAFF REPORTER
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  The country marked World AIDS day yesterday with a number of awareness-raising events that emphasized the importance of tolerance for the nation's more than 10,000 HIV-positive patients as well as HIV prevention.

  "We want to isolate the virus, not the victims," said Lin Ding (林頂), Deputy Director-General of the Center for Disease Control at the Department of Health.

  However, despite the efforts of the government and activist groups, fear and intolerance of people living with HIV is still widespread.

  

  Department of Health spokesperson Hsiao Chi, right, is joined by last year's spokesperson Piao Chung in a call for drug users not to share needles to avoid contracting AIDS at an event in Taipei to mark World AIDS Day yesterday.

  PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES

  A recent case involved a young boy who was excluded from after-school activities after it was discovered that he lived in Harmony Home, an AIDS shelter with his HIV-positive mother.

  Despite the fact that the boy is not HIV positive, an anonymous letter was circulated among parents warning them that an "AIDS baby" attended the school.

  "Even if the boy is HIV positive, this is still prejudiced harassment," said Nicole Yang (楊捷), the founder of Harmony Home.

  Harmony Home recently lost a lawsuit that sought to overturn a removal notice. The management committee of the apartment complex where the charity is located voted to move it out of the community.

  "We'll wait until we receive an eviction notice before we contemplate moving," Yang said.

  Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) said that despite government calls for more acceptance of those who are HIV positive, Taiwan's immigration law still discriminates against citizens who become HIV positive before they establish a household registry in Taiwan.

  According to the Immigration Law (入出國及移民法), all those who seek to apply for residency in Taiwan must undergo a health exam that includes an HIV test. Those who fail are denied residency and coverage under the National Health Insurance even if they are Republic of China passport holders.

  Those who currently hold or have once held a household registry in Taiwan are exempt from this requirement.

  "Since there is no cure for AIDS, we are effectively barring a group of citizens from their own country permanently," she said. "It's a clear violation of their rights."

  Huang was also critical of the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) proposal to make AIDS testing mandatory for pregnant women.

  "Have you heard of a woman who would refuse such a beneficial test? But to compel women to take it is an attack on women's civil liberties," she said.

  Lin admits that the percentage of women who currently opt for the test is high -- 97 percent.

  However, he said "it's the three percent that we're worried about."

  "If we know the mother is HIV positive, we can take measures that can reduce a baby's risk of infection from 40 percent to 2 percent to 4 percent," Lin said. "Each additional baby born with AIDS will cost the national health scheme NT$10 million on average over its lifetime."

  The growth in reported cases of AIDS in Taiwan has exploded in recent years.

  "In 2003, needle sharing overtook sexual transmission as the most likely means of spreading HIV," Lin said. "Since then, the number of new cases have roughly doubled every year."

  In 2004, there were 1,520 new HIV positive cases. Last year, there were 3400, according to the CDC. A clean needle program has handed out more than 300,000 needles since it was introduced in July, Lin said.
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