Chinese HIV/AIDS activist Wan Yanhai discusses his personal struggles with the police in China, the story of the “AIDS village”in Henan province, and the government’s strict control over information about HIV/AIDS. Wan condemns the blood transfusions that took place in government hospitals in Henan province that caused the HIV infection of over a third of the local population. He also draws attention to the government’s selectivity in giving affected people medical care: those who are obedient receive it,while those who file claims are denied treatment or even put in jail. Wan’s mission of raising awareness about the virus is made immeasurably harder by a repressive dictatorship that hinders nearly every step he takes. Wan has not given up his work to improve public health in China—though he must now do so inexile.
