Lei standing before the statue of Mao with 524 appealing letters LEI Chuang, 21, had been a top student majoring in material science and chemical engineering at Zhejiang University. He hoped to enter the Chinese Academy of Sciences for graduate school with an exam waiver.
But an alumni, who worked for the academy, told him they would not accept his application because he has the Hepatitis B virus. Lei received the same response from the officials at the academy.
But Lei didn’t want to give up. Since the end of last year, he has appealed to the academy by sending out 524 letters to professors, complaining about his treatment. He told 21st Century about his campaign:
21st: Have you received any response from those you wrote to?
Lei: Yes, I have three replies. Two of the professors told me I was not eligible for admission. The other has delivered my request to the head of the academy.
21st: Why did you choose this approach to deal with the situation?
Lei: I want to end the prejudice. My brother also has Hepatitis B. After his graduation, he succeeded in gaining an internship at a big company. However, he was denied employment for the same reason as me when the internship finished. Unlike me, he took no action and just accepted the result. This is my main incentive for appealing to the authorities.
21st: What’s the latest development?
Lei: I’ve received an interview letter from one of the institutions of the academy. I will go to Beijing for an interview before October 8.
21st: What will you do if you don’t succeed?
Lei: I will look for jobs or find other graduate schools that are willing to accept me. I will remain positive for the future. In fact, already some other organizations and charities have invited me to work for them.
Although all of my professors suggest I stop appealing, I carry on for the sake of other HBV carriers.
No matter what the result is, I hope my behavior will raise awareness to the prejudice HBV carriers suffer in society. I hope, at least, universities and companies can give us a chance to clarify our attitude and difficulties in person rather than arbitrarily rejecting us.
Interview by Li Wenwen
Eligibility
HBV carriers are not eligible to study the following subjects: preschool education, navigation technology, aviation technology and food related courses, according to The Guideline of University Students Health Exam, which is constituted by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. These guidelines are for reference when students choose subjects before entering university. Universities have no right to reject students that meet the requirements.
From 21century
