On World Aids Day, activists say stigma remains in mainland China
Ahead of World Aids Day, parents of those affected and activists say prejudice remains and governments aren't living up to financial promises
Wang Weijun said he felt a kick in his stomach each time he saw his daughter sitting alone in the last row of her middle school classroom. But he said he always swallowed his complaints.
Her teachers have her sit alone, fearing that the girl could spread the virus to other children, even though scientific research shows that HIV cannot be transmitted through casual contact.
Kaijia contracted the virus from her mother, who was infected through a blood transfusion during childbirth. The mother died two years after Kaijia was born.
"If I'd complained, I would have put my daughter at greater risk to have her HIV-status exposed," Wang, from Hebei province, says. "At least my daughter can stay at school because very few of her classmates have known her status and her teachers have treated her well on [the] surface."
Wang's situation illustrates the plight faced by many mainland families with relatives infected with HIV/Aids, where the numbers with the illness are growing.
