http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-12/02/content_17143826.htm
Why do you think the Chinese government has been so proactive about "fixing" this issue, but yet they turn a blind-eye to many of China's other problems? Do you think they have a secret agenda?
After doing outside research I have realized that China has not even been that proactive with the rise of HIV and AIDS, I say this because I have found out that the first case of HIV/AIDS detected was in 1985, almost 30 years ago, and there has been an exponential increase ever since. I believe that what has caused China to be more aggressive towards HIV/AIDS was the SARS epidemic that began in 2002 and lasted for about two years. This epidemic was enough to frighten China and change their current actions of “official denial and inaction” to being proactive and aggressive. I also believe that China is being aggressive towards HIV/AIDS now is because most other leading countries have dealt with this disease and contained it and China wants to look like a great country in the world’s eye so they turned their back against other problems to focus on this one.
ReplyDelete-Brian Mitchell
Outside research: http://www.temple.edu/lawschool/phrhcs/conference/hivpolitics.pdf , http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92479/
The issue of HIV and AIDS in China is a much more immediate and potentially devastating issue than the other problems that China has ignored in the past like, air and water quality, and human rights. HIV not only is a problem right now but it could spread to be a much bigger issue in the future, that is why China is taking such a reactive stance to the situation. The other issues in China are mainly getting better on their own or with the limited aid that China does give. AIDS will get exponentially worse especially with the young people of China. With an aging population and a desire to be one of the most advanced countries in the world, AIDS is not something that China can afford. The secret agenda of China is to become the strongest nation in the world. This issue harms that image, which might explain why they are blaming much of the issue on male to male sex rather than the lack of sexual education in the country. In spite of this large coverage of the issue China has one of the lowest prevalence at less than .1% in adults. It just seems like a bigger issue because of China’s larger population, the total people infected will always look astounding compared to other countries. Overall it is great that China is so adamant about fixing the HIV and AIDS and it definitely is in their best interest.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.avert.org/hiv-aids-china.htm
- Jarod George
China's government has been very proactive about the AIDs/HIV issue not because there is a secret agenda but because of the rate the disease is multiplying. This disease has been diagnosed to 434,000 people in China. Many of them are the youth and it is becoming widely spread because of the lack of education. Chinese officials want to start raising awareness on the subject on college campuses. They also are starting to shed some light on same sex couples because a large majority of AIDs is from gay sex. This doesn't just affect this generation either. AIDs can be transmitted from mother to child (http://www.avert.org/hiv-aids-china.htm). China will always have being a powerful country on its agenda but this con not be done without addressing such major issues in the country. With the amount of people getting AIDs is rapidly increasing, the government must do something to help.
ReplyDeleteI think it is great that China is so proactive regarding HIV/AIDS. However, I definitely think China's leaders may have alternative motives. HIV/AIDS is a very large international issue, and World AIDS Day was on December 1st. The issue of AIDS in China is certainly not the largest problem in China, yet I believe this issue is focused on so much because of the AIDS awareness throughout the world. At first glance, the efforts made by China are viewed as heroic and proactive by the world. However, this is exactly where China's true motives lie, in the publicity. In outside research I discovered there was a scandal in China in which China's leaders helped cover up an AIDS issue. The article World AIDS Day: Has China's PM made strides in HIV prevention? from the Al Jazeera website, there is a quote that states, "A decade after presiding over one of the greatest HIV/AIDS cover-up scandals in Chinese history, then-Vice Premier Li Keqiang attempted last year to redeem himself, pledging to revive efforts against rising infection rates in the People's Republic." This is one of the first events the article mentions, and shows that China's AIDS awareness might not be coming from the true goodness of their hearts. I believe there are many reasons that this issue in China is a large focus. Of these being that it looks good for China, and also because it is an effort to counter and cover the negative effects of their previous scandal.
ReplyDelete