WORLD AIDS Day Protest Planned to demand immediate release of Chinese AIDS & Human Rights Activist, Tian Xi and others

22 November 2010

22 November 2010

In a show of solidarity and to commemorate World AIDS Day, the Treatment Action Campaign, SECTION27, COSATU and others will be staging a protest on 1 December 2010 at the Chinese Embassy in Pretoria to demand the immediate release of Chinese AIDS activist, Tian Xi and other Human Rights activists detained in China. The protest is part of a global campaign to demand Tian Xi’s release. Protests will also take place in other parts of the world.

Tian Xi has been detained in Henan province without a formal sentence since August 6, 2010. He is in prison because of his ongoing campaign to petition the Chinese government to compensate him and thousands of others infected with HIV through contaminated national blood supply. Information about Tian Xi is available here (http://tinyurl.com/32xluhk).

Mr Xi was a child when he was given a blood transfusion that was contaminated. In the 1990’s tens of thousands of people in China’s central plains were infected with HIV and other pathogens through state-sponsored blood sales and hospital blood transfusions that were contaminated. No one has been held accountable and thousands of families have petitioned for compensation; a few have received small settlements and many have been refused. China’s courts currently refuse to accept lawsuits on these cases.

TAC, SECTION27, COSATU and others call on the Chinese government to respect human rights in line with its own Constitution and national human rights action plan.

On World AIDS day we will hand over a petition to the Chinese Ambassador calling for the immediate release of Tian Xi, Hu Jia, Liu Xiabo and many others who are in prison and whose only crime is to defend and promote human rights.

We will also call on UNAIDS to intervene urgently to secure the release of Tian Xi.

We urge you to join us for the march. See details below:

Date: 1 December 2010

Where: Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, 972 Pretorius Street, Arcadia, 0083, Pretoria

Time: 11h00

For media comments, contact:

Caroline Nenguke

Treatment Action Campaign

Tel: +27 21 422 1700

Cell: +27 83 885 3892

Email: caroline.nenguke@tac.org.za or

Kate Paterson