Former Health Official Calls for Henan HIV Scandal Probe

A former head of the China Health Education Research Institute, Chen Bingzhong, has once again appealed for people who contracted HIV in central China by donating blood in the 90s. Chen issued his third open letter to Chinese leader Hu Jintao last week, listing the crimes he says have gone unpunished for nearly 20 years.

Chen has been calling for an investigation into commercial blood banks in Henan Province during the 90s. At the time, Henan authorities encouraged peasants to sell blood as a way to generate income. Some estimate up to 100-thousand people contracted the HIV virus as a result.

Despite the scale of the outbreak, so far no one has been held accountable. Chen says the top two officials in Henan covered up the scandal and harassed those who tried to expose it. The two men are now senior Communist Party leaders. Li Changchun heads the Chinese regime’s propaganda machine, and Li Keqiang is the vice premier.

[Chen Bingzhong, AIDS Activist]:
“People can make mistakes, but they cannot cover it up. This is basic morals. What happened is a total loss of humanity and conscience. The high ranks of the Communist Party are protecting one another.”

Chen is 79-years-old and has advanced liver cancer. He says he will continue to speak for Henan’s HIV and AIDS sufferers, despite the pressure it may bring.

[Chen Bingzhong, AIDS Activist]:
“As a health worker I have a responsibility to be the voice for these victims, otherwise I would be incompetent. Regardless of how much I’m threatened I won’t stand down. A few days ago, Beijing police called me and tried to pressure me. I said ‘I won’t back down.’ I’m near my days anyway, and I want my death to be meaningful.”

The Chinese regime has stepped up the campaign against HIV and AIDS in recent years, as reported cases continue to grow. Authorities have never publicly addressed the Henan blood scandal though, instead, they blame unprotected sex as the major contributor for the outbreak.