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."
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