Taking Care of the Home Front
By Sharon Ching, Staff Writer

As the international community prepares itself for the emergence of China as a global power, specific considerations should be made regarding what this emergence means for China, for Asia, for Chinese citizens and those living abroad, and the world. It is somewhat difficult and even frustrating to describe my relationship with China. This is because my relationship is constructed by two main understandings – one, as this almost mythical construction shrouded in ancestral mystery and unknown history, and second, as this “other” place that exists as media portrays it. The stories of China, of all of Asia for that matter, exist in this constantly changing and fluctuating mental construction. At one point, China is described as this booming, quickly rising global power that will compete against the United States for the role as the principle leader of the world stage; and at another moment, its human rights violations and government secrecies come under attack. It is this particular moment of discussion about China’s human rights violations and government cover-ups that I want to discuss.

As it was, the human rights seminar I took two years ago provoked so much passion, anger and general confusion in me, it came down to a personal search to understand how all these issues of war, peace resolution, crimes against humanity and so forth fit in the larger picture of the world. For our final project, our assignment consisted of a presentation and research paper about a particular human rights activist or leader who was not only revolutionary in his or her way of thinking, but harbored genuine belief and passion in his or her work. I toyed around this idea for some time, not certain who to write about. Finally, an article in the NY Times peaked my interest. It was an article discussing the detainment of a Chinese doctor who was also one of China’s most prominent AIDS activists. The international outcry that filled news articles and editorials in major publications, and the emails sent about staging protests at the Chinese Embassy in New York, inspired me to delve deeper into the issue of AIDS in China.

There is no doubt in my mind that China has the potential to become a global power that could rival and perhaps, even surpass the United States’ economic presence on the world stage. Rather, the questions I have in regards to China’s potential are: what happens to China internally? How does China grapple with its reshaping of physical geography, the displacement of people, the increasing disparities between the rich and the poor, and the urban and rural? What do these changes mean for the Asian continent and the world? What happens to Hong Kong, considered the democratic and economic jewel of Asia, as Beijing continues to exert pressure and influence on the democratic processes of this former British colony? Importantly, what does this all mean for Chinese Americans? Yet, while these questions continue to develop and persist, it does little good to simply mull around them and not do anything. Action is necessary, which is precisely what China needs to take in the face of an AIDS epidemic.

AIDS is obviously a sensitive issue for the Asian community, even in the United States. The automatic notions of promiscuity, drug use, lack of cleanliness and immorality are often associated with AIDS. However, AIDS is a much more deeply entrenched political and social issue in China, and addressing and actively structuring an effective plan is necessary. It is also imperative that as Asian Americans, we participate and contribute in that dialogue on both personal and more inclusive levels. On one hand, many Asian Americans still feel direct and close relationships with their ancestral homelands, in fact, many may have been born there or grown up there. Particularly, for Chinese Americans, the issue of AIDS is a crucial topic of discussion because its potential as an explosive epidemic is quite possible and if nothing is done immediately, quite probable.

I focus on the AIDS crisis as solely as an example of the issues that China needs to face up to if it wants to not only be a global economic power, but also a legitimate participant in international dialogue. The AIDS crisis in China represents more than a public health concern, it represents the corruptive and complicit nature of local government, the ambivalence of the national government, the persistent government cover-ups and secrecy, the ongoing discrimination and mistreatment of HIV-infected individuals, the disenfranchisement of its own citizens, the disparities between healthcare access and the lack of political voice. Of the three supposed phases of China’s AIDS epidemic, the third and most current phase is something must be immediately addressed and dealt with. Necessary improvements in hospital systems and health education for the poor cannot come about effectively if the government refuses to participate in an active dialogue with its people. This is not to say that China has exhibited complete negligence and disinterest. In the past five years, some progress has been made including pilot programs in HIV/AIDS education, the passing of an anti-AIDS discrimination law, and reforms for blood screening, which arguably was the major factor contributing to the most recent explosion in the AIDS crisis. This particular third phase is a reference in the late 1990s, in particular the Henan Province, where local officials operated blood banks that used unsanitary measures in obtaining specific parts of blood to sell. Quite often, the impoverished farmers would donate their blood to make a little extra money, but the needles were unclean, and the blood parts that were not needed for sale, were re-injected into the donors. Improper screening did not detect the existence of HIV in the general pool of blood. Now, there cruel realities often associated with parts of Africa are visible in China as well – large segments of the population, namely the working age group, being eliminated, leaving the very elderly and very young behind. Though it is understandable that the Chinese government wants to focus its energies toward constructing China into a fully competitive, industrialized nation, it cannot survive if it doesn’t take care of its people.

While I’ve sounded generally disillusioned and critical about these issues in China, it is not to say that I do not believe that they can be resolved. The romantic optimistic in me believes that the potential in China is vast and incredible. If the government connects with its citizens, importantly those on the rural peripheries, and if the government takes the initiative or even an active response, the opportunity for improvement in the well-being of the country can occur. Additionally, as Beijing prepares to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, the country is placed in greater scrutiny by national governments, corporations and human rights organizations. While it may be easy to simply offer a glossy, visually stimulating presentation of China – skyscrapers touching the sky and expansive shopping centers, the country’s goal, perhaps, should be to present its people, their culture and lived history. In order to that, the government must heed attention to the changes, both positive and negative, occurring in the country, and that involves acknowledging something like the AIDS crisis and being effective in battling against it. The possibility and potential for change is there, and already the government has made important strides in that direction. As China continues to grow, expand and develop into a significant participant in all faucets of the global economy, it will prosper even more if it can balance its external growth with care for its people.