A masked man stages a sit-down protest in front of a hospital in Guangzhou, the capital of South China’s Guangdong province, on Dec 22. His sign says: “Please do not use the regulations that ban hepatitis B tests as toilet paper.”(Photo by CHINA DAILY)
Chinese medical institutions and the people who run them will face the possibility of public exposure and administrative punishments if they continue to provide screening tests to companies wanting to know if prospective workers are carriers of hepatitis B, China's top health authority has warned.
In a statement released on Saturday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said medical institutions are not allowed to carry out hepatitis B tests on behalf of companies as part of pre-employment physical examinations, regardless of whether or not consent is obtained from the candidates.
The move is aimed at safeguarding people's right to work in a country where discrimination is rife against carriers of infections such as hepatitis B and HIV/AIDS.
Hospital directors found to have violated the rules will be exposed to the public and will invite strict administrative punishments, the ministry said.
The latest move follows the results of a survey released last week showing that, despite existing rules and regulations, some 61 percent of 180 State-run companies polled still include hepatitis B screenings in their pre-employment physical examinations.
Moreover, 63 of the 180 companies either said they would never consider hepatitis B carriers for a job or would be reluctant to hire such people.
The survey was conducted by the non-profit Beijing Yirenping Center.
Yu Fangqiang, leader of the advocacy group, told Xinhua News Agency that such violations were mainly down to the light punishments available for those who break the rules and the pursuit of profits by some medical institutions.
In the past, employers have only been fined a matter of thousands or tens of thousands of yuan for carrying out such tests, and then only if they lose lawsuits.
The legal actions are expensive and few candidates discriminated against have the time and money to bring such cases.
Liu Xiaonan, an associate professor with the China University of Political Science and Law, called on the government to hammer out a specific law and set up a special committee to investigate such cases of discrimination in order to ensure the rights of hepatitis B carriers are protected.
Given that China has about 120 million hepatitis B carriers and at least 20 million chronic hepatitis patients, awareness of the conditions remains low among the public, experts said.
It has been scientifically proven that the hepatitis B virus can only be transmitted from mother to child during childbirth or by contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person, not by casual contact.
In its statement, the MOH ordered health administrations nationwide to carry out careful investigation into all cases of hepatitis B-related discrimination and pledged that hospitals found to be still providing such tests to employers would be punished in accordance with laws and regulations.
On Feb 10, 2010, the ministries of health, education and human resources and social security jointly issued a circular demanding the cancellation of such screening tests during health checks for school enrollment and employment nationwide.
Source: China Daily
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/7286364.html
Monday, February 21, 2011
Chinese people living with HIV call for equal job opportunities
Xiao Jun, 27, stepped onto the platform, face covered by a mask, dark-colored glasses and a cap, asking everyone in the meeting hall one question: "Can a person with HIV be a teacher?"
Xiao Jun (a pseudonym) was recently refused a teaching job because of his HIV status. He was invited on Tuesday to a forum held by the International Labor Organization (ILO), UNAIDS and Marie Stopes International in Beijing for championing his own rights by using legal measures.
He filed China's second case involving employment discrimination against people living with HIV (PLWHIV) in Oct. this year, though he failed to win during the first trial.
As employment discrimination against PLWHIV has already come into the spotlight in China, now there are some people standing up to champion their own rights to jobs, officials note.
The Tuesday ILO conference released a report, "HIV and AIDS Related Employment Discrimination in China," co-authored by ILO and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), which notes that PLWHIV in China are faced with employment discrimination, such as mandatory testing, denial of job opportunities, forced resignations, and downgrading of job responsibilities.
The report also notes that, PLWHIV in China are prohibited from working in the civil service and in hotels, cafes, bars, beauty salons and hairdressers.
The defendant in Xiao Jun's case, the education bureau of Anqing city, denied Xiao Jun the job, saying that, "Teaching is a special job, and qualification criteria for teachers are very high."
Xiao Jun said, "Nobody can live without work. Denying us this right is even worse than suffering from HIV."
Further, Yu Fangqiang, Xiao Jun's defense lawyer, said, "Chinese tend to give moral judgment to people with HIV. They sympathize with those contracting HIV due to blood transfusion, but despise those who picked it up through sex, deeming them as morally corrupted, so how could a morally corrupted person be a teacher?"
Yu said, however, "Everyone is entitled to equal rights which are endowed by law, and the public should be aware of that." Now, their case has been filed with the intermediate court of Anqing.
The Anqing Education Bureau, in its recruitment of teachers, applied the health criteria for employing civil servants, which provides that people with HIV are disqualified from being civil servants.
The health examination criteria for civil servants has become the center of blame by rights advocates, as it is frequently adopted by other employers, for instance, by schools, public institutions and many state-owned enterprises.
The joint ILO and China CDC report suggests revising the health check criteria for hiring civil servants and policemen because it sets an example for other employers.
The report also suggests revoking mandatory testing as a pre-condition for employment and keeping health check results confidential. "If only the patient himself is informed of his health status, not his managers, then the PLWHIV will not loose jobs."
According to a survey on public attitudes towards employment of people living with HIV conducted in 2007, 48.8 percent of the 1,000 respondents argue that people with HIV should be deprived of equal employment.
Business managers show even stronger opposition to employing PLWHIV. Among 200 managers being surveyed, 130 (65 percent) believe PLWHIV should not enjoy equal employment opportunities.
Michael Shiu, Vice President of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said, in a program his organization carried out, employers told him even though they would hire HIV positive staff, they couldn't do so because other employees might be terrified, which would jeopardize harmony in the work place.
Tang Hao, a newspaper editor, said, "If I have a colleague who's PLWHIV, I will quit my job, even if I know the virus cannot be contracted through daily contacts, because I feel insecure as long as there is a 1 percent chance of infection."
The decade-long endeavor to remove employment discrimination against people suffering from Hepatitis B may offer PLWHIV a ray of hope. With years of advocacy, HBV carriers have been able to be civil servants since 2005, and China prohibits mandatory health checks towards HBV since 2010.
Lei Chuang, a volunteer in Tuesday's ILO event, also a HBV carrier, said, "As Hepatitis B patients are now allowed to work even as cooks, I am confident one day PLWHIV could enjoy the same rights."
There are currently an estimated 700,000 people living with HIV in China, including about 75,000 AIDS patients.
The ILO and China CDC report also recognize that progress has been made to reduce employment discrimination in China.
For example, China began implementing a regulation on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in 2006. The Law on the Promotion of Employment, which took effect in 2008, stipulates that employers cannot deny jobs to carriers of infectious diseases.
Mark Sterling, UNAIDS country coordinator in China, said as protecting the rights of PLWHIV has been written into China's next five year plan, it would provide wonderful opportunities to ensure follow-up actions to ensure the rights of PLWHIV.
Source:Xinhua
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/7218358.html
Xiao Jun (a pseudonym) was recently refused a teaching job because of his HIV status. He was invited on Tuesday to a forum held by the International Labor Organization (ILO), UNAIDS and Marie Stopes International in Beijing for championing his own rights by using legal measures.
He filed China's second case involving employment discrimination against people living with HIV (PLWHIV) in Oct. this year, though he failed to win during the first trial.
As employment discrimination against PLWHIV has already come into the spotlight in China, now there are some people standing up to champion their own rights to jobs, officials note.
The Tuesday ILO conference released a report, "HIV and AIDS Related Employment Discrimination in China," co-authored by ILO and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), which notes that PLWHIV in China are faced with employment discrimination, such as mandatory testing, denial of job opportunities, forced resignations, and downgrading of job responsibilities.
The report also notes that, PLWHIV in China are prohibited from working in the civil service and in hotels, cafes, bars, beauty salons and hairdressers.
The defendant in Xiao Jun's case, the education bureau of Anqing city, denied Xiao Jun the job, saying that, "Teaching is a special job, and qualification criteria for teachers are very high."
Xiao Jun said, "Nobody can live without work. Denying us this right is even worse than suffering from HIV."
Further, Yu Fangqiang, Xiao Jun's defense lawyer, said, "Chinese tend to give moral judgment to people with HIV. They sympathize with those contracting HIV due to blood transfusion, but despise those who picked it up through sex, deeming them as morally corrupted, so how could a morally corrupted person be a teacher?"
Yu said, however, "Everyone is entitled to equal rights which are endowed by law, and the public should be aware of that." Now, their case has been filed with the intermediate court of Anqing.
The Anqing Education Bureau, in its recruitment of teachers, applied the health criteria for employing civil servants, which provides that people with HIV are disqualified from being civil servants.
The health examination criteria for civil servants has become the center of blame by rights advocates, as it is frequently adopted by other employers, for instance, by schools, public institutions and many state-owned enterprises.
The joint ILO and China CDC report suggests revising the health check criteria for hiring civil servants and policemen because it sets an example for other employers.
The report also suggests revoking mandatory testing as a pre-condition for employment and keeping health check results confidential. "If only the patient himself is informed of his health status, not his managers, then the PLWHIV will not loose jobs."
According to a survey on public attitudes towards employment of people living with HIV conducted in 2007, 48.8 percent of the 1,000 respondents argue that people with HIV should be deprived of equal employment.
Business managers show even stronger opposition to employing PLWHIV. Among 200 managers being surveyed, 130 (65 percent) believe PLWHIV should not enjoy equal employment opportunities.
Michael Shiu, Vice President of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said, in a program his organization carried out, employers told him even though they would hire HIV positive staff, they couldn't do so because other employees might be terrified, which would jeopardize harmony in the work place.
Tang Hao, a newspaper editor, said, "If I have a colleague who's PLWHIV, I will quit my job, even if I know the virus cannot be contracted through daily contacts, because I feel insecure as long as there is a 1 percent chance of infection."
The decade-long endeavor to remove employment discrimination against people suffering from Hepatitis B may offer PLWHIV a ray of hope. With years of advocacy, HBV carriers have been able to be civil servants since 2005, and China prohibits mandatory health checks towards HBV since 2010.
Lei Chuang, a volunteer in Tuesday's ILO event, also a HBV carrier, said, "As Hepatitis B patients are now allowed to work even as cooks, I am confident one day PLWHIV could enjoy the same rights."
There are currently an estimated 700,000 people living with HIV in China, including about 75,000 AIDS patients.
The ILO and China CDC report also recognize that progress has been made to reduce employment discrimination in China.
For example, China began implementing a regulation on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in 2006. The Law on the Promotion of Employment, which took effect in 2008, stipulates that employers cannot deny jobs to carriers of infectious diseases.
Mark Sterling, UNAIDS country coordinator in China, said as protecting the rights of PLWHIV has been written into China's next five year plan, it would provide wonderful opportunities to ensure follow-up actions to ensure the rights of PLWHIV.
Source:Xinhua
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/7218358.html
Job seeker files case on HIV discrimination
A court in Anhui province said on Monday that it accepted a case filed by a college graduate who had been denied a teaching job because he was HIV positive.
This is believed to be China's first case of job discrimination due to HIV status on the mainland despite widespread HIV/AIDS related discrimination and stigma in the country, where 740,000 people are living with the virus, experts said.
The plaintiff, from Anqing, Anhui province, and going by the alias Xiao Wu, was denied a teaching job by the Anqing city education department in mid-August after he tested positive for HIV.
The medical tests, including screenings for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis C, were taken after he had passed the written tests and interviews for the job.
The Anqing People's Court of Yingjiang District put Xiao Wu's case on record on Monday morning.
Xiao Wu wants the education department to review its decision and give him the job he deserves, according to lawyer Zheng Jineng, who represents the case.
No economic compensation is being claimed in the suit.
Xiao Wu could not be reached for a comment.
"We understand he was under huge pressure and afraid of media exposure," said Zheng.
"I hope the case can draw the public's attention and help protect job seekers against any kind of discrimination," he told China Daily on Monday.
The trial is scheduled to begin in two weeks.
"China has issued laws and regulations protecting the rights of people with HIV/AIDS including the right to employment. Denying them the jobs they deserve is depriving them of their rights to work for society and earn a living," said Lu Jun, who heads the Beijing-based civil society Yirenping, which helps people fight discrimination through legal means.
"I think he will win the case," he noted.
However, in a recent interview Xiao Wu said he was uncertain about the result.
Also, he said, once the case becomes widely reported it could weigh heavily on his future as all of his friends and relatives would know he was HIV positive, he said.
Xiao Wu was born and raised in rural Anqing. He said that he went through four years of college education in the hope of getting a decent job.
The education department defended its decision by citing student protection.
"As an education department, we believe that teachers should be responsible for students' sound development. Our decision not to hire him is to protect the students. We definitely won't change our minds," said a staff surnamed Fang from the department of education in Anqing.
Daily contacts including shaking hands and eating together would not spread HIV, medical experts said.
However, a mother surnamed Yang in Anqing, whose 8-year-old son attends a local primary school, told China Daily on Monday that she agreed with the education department's decision.
"I understand Xiao Wu's suffering but I don't want an HIV carrier to teach my son," she said.
Source: China Daily(By Zhang Yue and Shan Juan )
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/90872/7123048.html
This is believed to be China's first case of job discrimination due to HIV status on the mainland despite widespread HIV/AIDS related discrimination and stigma in the country, where 740,000 people are living with the virus, experts said.
The plaintiff, from Anqing, Anhui province, and going by the alias Xiao Wu, was denied a teaching job by the Anqing city education department in mid-August after he tested positive for HIV.
The medical tests, including screenings for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis C, were taken after he had passed the written tests and interviews for the job.
The Anqing People's Court of Yingjiang District put Xiao Wu's case on record on Monday morning.
Xiao Wu wants the education department to review its decision and give him the job he deserves, according to lawyer Zheng Jineng, who represents the case.
No economic compensation is being claimed in the suit.
Xiao Wu could not be reached for a comment.
"We understand he was under huge pressure and afraid of media exposure," said Zheng.
"I hope the case can draw the public's attention and help protect job seekers against any kind of discrimination," he told China Daily on Monday.
The trial is scheduled to begin in two weeks.
"China has issued laws and regulations protecting the rights of people with HIV/AIDS including the right to employment. Denying them the jobs they deserve is depriving them of their rights to work for society and earn a living," said Lu Jun, who heads the Beijing-based civil society Yirenping, which helps people fight discrimination through legal means.
"I think he will win the case," he noted.
However, in a recent interview Xiao Wu said he was uncertain about the result.
Also, he said, once the case becomes widely reported it could weigh heavily on his future as all of his friends and relatives would know he was HIV positive, he said.
Xiao Wu was born and raised in rural Anqing. He said that he went through four years of college education in the hope of getting a decent job.
The education department defended its decision by citing student protection.
"As an education department, we believe that teachers should be responsible for students' sound development. Our decision not to hire him is to protect the students. We definitely won't change our minds," said a staff surnamed Fang from the department of education in Anqing.
Daily contacts including shaking hands and eating together would not spread HIV, medical experts said.
However, a mother surnamed Yang in Anqing, whose 8-year-old son attends a local primary school, told China Daily on Monday that she agreed with the education department's decision.
"I understand Xiao Wu's suffering but I don't want an HIV carrier to teach my son," she said.
Source: China Daily(By Zhang Yue and Shan Juan )
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/90872/7123048.html
Hepatitis B carrier protests discrimination on street
A Chinese woman, nicknamed "Weeding," is a hepatitis B carrier. She had been living in fear and discrimination since she was 15. When she was 27 she went to study in Japan, and then she found out the facts behind her disease.
Recently, the girl started walking on the streets of domestic cities and holding a board for seeking someone to have dinner with her in order to tell them her story and the facts behind hepatitis B. According to her, the reason that she uses the name of "Weeding" is trying to eliminate the fear and discrimination in people's hearts.
The age of 15 might be the best time for a little girl in middle school. However, "Weeding"'s sky seemed to collapse suddenly after she was diagnosed with hepatitis B. Her life was full of fear and discrimination and not a happy time spent playing and eating together with families and friends.
Under the pressure of the disease and the belief that her life was going to end soon, the girl failed her college entrance examination. Later, she got the chance to study in Japan through her family's efforts.
At the beginning, she was worried the disease might impact her way of life in Japan. But, when she arrived in Japan she found that disease carriers in Japan did not suffer what she suffered, and the privacy rights of carriers were well protected by law. She then studied well the disease and found out the truth about hepatitis B.
In order to spread the scientific facts about the disease, she had the idea of encouraging some people to have dinner with her and tell them what's really going on.
By Wang Hanlu, People's Daily Online
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/90872/7066090.html
Recently, the girl started walking on the streets of domestic cities and holding a board for seeking someone to have dinner with her in order to tell them her story and the facts behind hepatitis B. According to her, the reason that she uses the name of "Weeding" is trying to eliminate the fear and discrimination in people's hearts.
The age of 15 might be the best time for a little girl in middle school. However, "Weeding"'s sky seemed to collapse suddenly after she was diagnosed with hepatitis B. Her life was full of fear and discrimination and not a happy time spent playing and eating together with families and friends.
Under the pressure of the disease and the belief that her life was going to end soon, the girl failed her college entrance examination. Later, she got the chance to study in Japan through her family's efforts.
At the beginning, she was worried the disease might impact her way of life in Japan. But, when she arrived in Japan she found that disease carriers in Japan did not suffer what she suffered, and the privacy rights of carriers were well protected by law. She then studied well the disease and found out the truth about hepatitis B.
In order to spread the scientific facts about the disease, she had the idea of encouraging some people to have dinner with her and tell them what's really going on.
By Wang Hanlu, People's Daily Online
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/90872/7066090.html
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