Aizhixing Institute of Health Education

Aizhixing Institute of Health Education

Formation	1994; 31 years ago (1994)
Founder	Hu Jia Wan Yanhai
Headquarters	Beijing, China
Website	http://www.aizhi.org

The Aizhixing Institute of Health Education is a non-profit organization based in Beijing, China, which focuses on education about and spreading awareness of HIV/AIDS, as well as HIV/AIDS research and programs serving HIV-positive individuals.

The organization was founded in March 1994 by Wan Yanhai, and was originally called the AIZHI Action Project.[1] It adopted its current name in 2002.[2]

Services

At the time of its founding, AIZHI Action Project focused primarily on preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, providing education on age and sex, fighting discrimination of HIV-positive individuals and advocating for the LGBT community in China.[1][3]

By 2003, services had expanded to include financial assistance and legal aid, and education programs were targeted towards specific demographics, including drug users, the LGBT community, migrant workers, sex workers, and students.[1]

History

AIZHI Action Project was initially based at Beijing University, but was shut down after authorities pressured the university.[4]

In 2000, the group published the work of Gao Yaojie, who was attempting to bring attention to the Bloodhead scandal in Henan.[5]

The organization was officially banned by the government on 1 July, 2002.[3] Founder Wan Yanhai registered AIZHI with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, allowing it to reopen as a business rather than a non-profit, for which registration was more difficult.[4][5]

In September 2003, the non-profit released a report describing how "the Chinese government...actively hindered progress towards halting the [AIDS] epidemic, denied people access to treatment and care, prevented the exchange of information on HIV/AIDS, and promoted unlawfulness and corruption in many parts of the country".[6]

In December 2004, Aizhixing and the Shanghai University School of Law co-organized a conference on AIDS, law and human rights, which was held in Shanghai.[7]

After a 2005 law was passed that limited NGO activities, the group renamed itself the Beijing Aizhixing Information Consulting Center.[8]

In December 2010, authorities opened an investigation into the organization, stated to be over tax regulations.[9]

On 11 March 2011, government authorities demanded the organization remove a letter from their website that implicated two government officials in "a blood transfusion scandal that led to an HIV/AIDS epidemic in Henan province in the 1990s". On 15 March, the organization's website was shut down by authorities.[9]

In 2012, the Guangzhou branch of the organization closed after staff reported police threatened them.[10]

References

1. "Small steps on the road to averting a catastrophe". South China Morning Post. 2003-12-01. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
2. Hossain, Moazzem; McIntosh, Malcolm (2013-01-01). The Asian Century, Sustainable Growth and Climate Change. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-78100-575-0.
3. Bodeen, Christopher (2002-08-27). "Groups: China AIDS Activist Missing". The Edwardsville Intelligencer. Associated Press. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
4. "Restrictions on AIDS Activists in China" (PDF). Human Rights Watch. 17 (5): 45. June 2005.
5. Kaufman, Joan (March 2010). "Turning points in China's AIDS response". China: An International Journal. 8 (1). East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore: 63–84. doi:10.1353/chn.2010.a378333.
6. "No more business as usual in China". The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 3 (10): 601. 2003-09-25. doi:10.1016/s1473-3099(03)00782-5. PMC 7128657. PMID 14522257.
7. "China: HRW Invited to Speak Publicly on AIDS at Conference". Human Rights Watch. 2005-01-14. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
8. Wan, Yanhai (2015-05-14). "For Whom the Bell Tolls: One Chinese NGO's Alleged Crime of "Illegal Business Operation"". China Change. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
9. Congressional-Executive Commission on China (2013-12-16). Annual Report 2013. Government Printing Office. p. 135.
10. "Amnesty International: Crackdown escalates ahead of leadership change". Central Tibetan Administration. 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2024-05-19.