AIDS / HIV: December 2005 Archives

Government Persecutes Civil Society Groups That Address HIV/AIDS

(New York, December 20, 2005) – In shutting down Beijing’s first-ever gay and lesbian cultural festival, the Chinese government violated basic freedoms and persecuted activists who are addressing the country’s burgeoning AIDS crisis, Human Rights Watch and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network said today in letters to the Chinese authorities.

"China continues to talk about political reform, but closing down a cultural event is a crude reminder of the limits on openness," said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch."This police raid was an effort to drive China’s gay and lesbian communities underground and to silence open discussions about sexuality throughout the country."

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Original source: Human Rights Watch