I was gonna post this in the NBA forum but I figured it would blow up so I am putting it here. http://au.sports.yahoo.com/news/art...ns-hivaids-entry-ban-despite-olympic-scrutiny Olympics: China's maintains HIV-AIDS entry ban despite Olympic scrutiny AFP - July 31, 2008, 10:03 am China has defied calls to lift its ban on foreign visitors with HIV-AIDS ahead of the Olympics, highlighting a restriction that critics say fuels prejudice against those with the disease. Despite last week removing a ban on visitors with leprosy entering the country -- a move state media highlighted ahead of next month's Games -- the long-time block on people with HIV or AIDS remains in place. The ban would mean that basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson -- who won an Olympic gold with the US "Dream Team" in Barcelona in 1992 a year after announcing he had contracted HIV -- would not be allowed entry to Beijing as a tourist. Connie Osborne, a senior World Health Organisation's advisor on HIV-AIDS in China, said she had hoped that China would review the "sensitive issue" ahead of the Games. She added that reducing the stigma of HIV sufferers was one of the most crucial steps in China addressing its patchy record on the disease. "That is still an ongoing battle. We have won a few battles, but we have also lost a few," Osborne, a Zambian doctor, told AFP. "When we do not address stigma and discrimination, people who may be affected and those at high risk tend to go underground," she added. Despite the difficulties, Osborne said China had made real progress in other areas, in particular increasing awareness at a local level and improving the quality of treatment in the worst hit provinces, such as Henan and Yunnan. "We have seen increased commitment by local government. When I first came it was just central government," said Osborne, who has been here from more than three years. Organisers of the International AIDS Conference, which is set to meet in Mexico City from August 3 to 8, have condemned countries which refuse to lift travel restrictions. "International AIDS Society (IAS) member experts in infectious disease and public health have long held that laws and policies barring the entry, stay or residence of HIV-positive people do not protect the public health and may in fact impede effective responses to HIV," the organisation said in a recent statement. More than 20,000 professionals from around the world will gather to discuss the global response to HIV-AIDS at the conference. Currently, some 67 countries have some sort of HIV-specific laws that restrict the entry of people living with HIV, although the United States has recently made significant moves towards lifting its ban. China requires short-term entrants to declare their HIV status at the border, while long-term stays require compulsory tests, according to the Global Database of HIV-related travel restrictions. Neither China's ministry of health nor the foreign ministry answered AFP questions about the ban, and visa application forms on the foreign ministry website still included the HIV question. Zhu Jing, a spokeswoman for the Beijing organisers, said athletes and delegates would not have to give their HIV-AIDS status. "For the Olympic family members, if he or she is an AIDS patient, he or she can still come to Beijing," she told AFP. The latest study by China's ministry of health, along with the WHO and the United Nations, found that 700,000 people were HIV positive in China at the end of 2007, although campaigners have warned the figure could be up to 10 times higher. Thousands were infected during the 1990s through tainted blood transfusions at illegal blood collection stations, but the focus of attention is now shifting to high risk groups such as gay men and sex workers. China has made moves to improve its understanding of the gay community -- homosexuality was still considered a mental illness until 2001 -- one of the areas where it is approaching international norms, Osborne said. There has also been a new emphasis on addressing the rising number of heterosexual infections, often among migrant workers in large cities. However, progress is undermined by China's aggressive stance on any help from groups outside the ruling communist structure, in particular non-governmental organisations. Activist Hu Jia, who has been one of the government's most vocal critics over the AIDS issue, was this year sentenced to three and a half years in prison on charges of inciting subversion of the state, while other lawyers and campaigners have faced harassment
China, I would like to extend to you an invitation to the 21st Century. We have all kinds of great new understandings. Please leave crap like this behind. Sincerely, The World
China's also censoring everything from the journalists. Western media does not give a **** - there's too much money involved.
Nevermind, we apparently joined the rest of the world this week. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5914776.html
why is that an issue? when i moved to US, i had to go through so many checks to make sure i'm healthy. some of the disease will ban me from entering US. there were also follow up checks after years living in US. they are constantly monitoring us. good thing i am healthy, if not, i won't be allowed to live here.
The ban seems perfectly reasonable to me. Why should they want to let more people into their country who could potentially spread a horrible disease that is ravaging other parts of the world?
Can't really blame China on this one. Banning people with contageous deadly diseases is pretty standard.
lol... I would also like to extend my invitation to the USA into the 21st century. Sincerely, The rest of the world
Right, they should just open up their border and anyone who breathes can just go in and out through a revolving door. And they should provide free cold beer and pizza when people are crossing too. Otherwise, they are not part of the 21st Century modern world.
I'd like to see a list of diseases which prevent you from entering other countries. But it seems to me like a disease considered an "epidemic" should logically be included in there. I don't know why people wish to take AIDS off the list. Now, I know that AIDS don't exactly spread as easily as flu or other airborne diseases. But it's still something that can be dangerous.
Do you believe in magic in a young girl's heart How the music can free her, whenever it starts And it's magic, if the music is groovy It makes you feel happy like an old-time movie I'll tell you about the magic, and it'll free your soul But it's like trying to tell a stranger 'bout rock and roll If you believe in magic don't bother to choose If it's jug band music or rhythm and blues Just go and listen it'll start with a smile It won't wipe off your face no matter how hard you try Your feet start tapping and you can't seem to find How you got there, so just blow your mind If you believe in magic, come along with me We'll dance until morning 'til there's just you and me And maybe, if the music is right I'll meet you tomorrow, sort of late at night And we'll go dancing, baby, then you'll see How the magic's in the music and the music's in me Yeah, do you believe in magic Yeah, believe in the magic of a young girl's soul Believe in the magic of rock and roll Believe in the magic that can set you free Ohh, talking 'bout magic Do you believe like I believe Do you believe in magic Do you believe like I believe Do you believe, believer Do you believe like I believe Do you believe in magic John Sebastian Impeach Bush/Cheney.
Good idea. But in order to be allowed to join the 21 century world, the Chinese should also give more freedom of choice to their visitors going in and out of their country. It's too totalitarian and authoritarian to only allow the visitors to have cold beer and pizza. They should add more items to the menu...like Meal A: Pizza and beer Meal B: Peking duck and wonton soup Meal C: Italian sausage and spaghetti meatball. Now the visitors are able to exercise their freedom of choice to pick the kind of free foods that they really want when they cross the border. This is how you get accepted to the 21 century new world.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Magic Johnson is not a good example of your average HIV patient. (and guess what, if he wanted to go, they would gladly make an ex$eption) If they had a ban on former heroin users, it would be like saying Robert Downey Jr. couldn't go as well. I disagree with the law, but the journalist makes the same mistake that the lawmakers did- one is trying to generalize the group with their worst representatives and the other is trying to generalize the group with their best representative. It's like when neo-cons say islam is evil because Osama was evil, but christianity is good because mother teresa was christian.
