In China, A Successful AIDS Lawsuit Stands in Contrast to the State’s Treatment of AIDS Patients

Chinese students use handmade red ribbons to form 'AIDS' one day ahead of the the World AIDS Day, at a school in Hanshan, east China's Anhui province on Nov. 30, 2009. STR/AFP/Getty Images

When a topic is taboo in society, behavior may be irrational. Consider how AIDS is handled in China. A man who does not have AIDS but was mistakenly diagnosed as HIV+ has been able recently to successfully file a lawsuit for damages. Those who do have AIDS and seek help from the state are harassed and surveilled, with their lawyers denied to them and minimal aid offered.

But while there is certainly ignorance and prejudice surrounding AIDS in China, the suppression of AIDS activism may also be linked to an ongoing scandal.