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China has lifted its two-decade-old ban prohibiting entry by people with HIV/AIDS. The State Council said the government passed amendments on April 19 that revise the Border Quarantine Law as well as China's Law on Control of the Entry and Exit of Aliens. The move also scraps entry restrictions for foreigners with other STDs. The ban was instituted during a time of "limited knowledge" about HIV, according to a statement on the State Council's Web site. China's move follows similar decisions by the United States and South Korea in January to eliminate travel restrictions for HIV-positive visitors.
Entry restrictions remain for people with infectious TB, those with "serious" mental illnesses, and "infectious diseases likely to cause significant harm to public health," the State Council said.
The lifting of the HIV travel ban comes just before the Shanghai World Expo opens on May 1. The State Council said the ban proved inconvenient when China hosted international events. It also said the government realized such restrictions did little in terms of preventing and controlling the spread of HIV and other STDs.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised China's decision and called on other countries that still ban HIV-positive visitors to rethink their laws. "Punitive policies and practices only hamper the global AIDS response," he said.
Last month, China denied a visa to Robert Dessaix, an HIV-positive writer hoping to participate in a literary tour. That move prompted a group of almost 100 prominent authors, including Nobel laureate J.M. Coetzee and Booker Prize winner Thomas Keneally, to sign a petition condemning China and demanding that officials apologize to Dessaix.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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