BEIJING, Aug 1 (AFP) - Two HIV-positive protesters in central China's AIDS-ravaged Henan province have spent weeks in jail as local authorities seek to stop protests about inadequate healthcare, a Beijing-based activist said Sunday.
Pan Zhongfeng and Fan Zhenbang were arrested in Shuangqiu city in early July and were likely to remain in detention for 30 days, according to Li Dan, who runs a charity for AIDS orphans.
The pair were apparently detained for leading a group of people entering a hospital in Henan earlier this year and carrying away equipment to protest the lack of support for HIV/AIDS sufferers in the province, he said.
"This seems to be just an excuse," said Li Dan. "Police were present at the hospital when it happened, but did nothing to stop them, instead just making notes about who took what equipment."
AIDS has hit harder in Henan than perhaps any other part of China as impoverished farmers contracted the disease while selling blood under extremely unhygienic conditions.
Pan and Fan were among a group of four, all HIV positive, who have reportedly been detained in Shangqiu city recently.
The two others are Wang Guofeng and Li Suzhi, who were detained on July 12 as they were about to travel to Beijing to petition the national health department, according to a previous report from Amnesty International.
Also reflecting the Henan authorities' attitude towards the AIDS problem, a school for AIDS orphans run by Li Dan was recently closed.
Local Chinese authorities, who for years have given low priority to the AIDS issue, may be coming under increased pressure as the central government in Beijing is stepping up its campaign to curb the epidemic.
In provinces such as Henan, where farming communities have been devastated by AIDS, officials have stormed villages at night, beating and arresting HIV-infected farmers demanding better care.
China says it has about 840,000 HIV patients, but has warned of a worst-case scenario in which 12 million will have the virus by the end of the decade.
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