China's HIV/AIDS Crisis: Implications for Human Rights, the Rule of Law and U.S.-China Relations Testimony before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China Roundtable on HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS looms as a major humanitarian catastrophe for both urban and rural Chinese, and possibly for citizens in the orbit of “Greater China”, such as in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The Chinese government needs to act quickly and effectively to limit HIV/AIDS’ impact on society, minimize economic damage, and relieve strain on an already overburdened, and increasingly ineffective healthcare system. However, while HIV/AIDS has been identified in China since the mid-1980s, the official response has until recently been slow at best and deceitful at worst. While the Chinese government – particularly its health-related agencies – has launched a more serious public campaign over the past year to address the country’s HIV/AIDS problem, it is still difficult to fully assess how well the Chinese government will respond in terms of political attention, financial resources, dedication of expertise, outreach to foreign assistance, and propagation of information and awareness campaigns.