SHANGHAI, Dec 14 (AFP) - International campaigner Human Rights Watch (HRW) Tuesday took part in a meeting in China for the first time, delivering a landmark speech at a conference on AIDS and law in Shanghai.
"This is the first public talk Human Rights Watch has been allowed to conduct in China," Meg Davis, HRW's China researcher who gave the speech, told AFP.
"This is a critical moment in the movement to fight rights abuses in China. We got a very warm reception here today."
The conference, co-organised by the Shanghai University Law School and prominent AIDS activist Wan Yanhai, brought together 25 AIDS-related groups from around China to discuss how to tackle the growing threat.
The meeting also discussed issues such as freedom of expression and assembly, access to information and problems in Chinese prisons.
It made several recommendations on how to approach HIV/AIDS in China, which observers have warned could spiral out of control if not urgently addressed.
China estimates it has 840,000 HIV/AIDS sufferers although international AIDS experts say the actual number is much higher.
"There were recommendations on issues like anti-discrimination regulations and access to care and treatment," said Davis.
In the past China has heaped abuse on the New York-based group, accusing it of slander, malicious attacks on the human rights situation in China and fabrication.
Despite this, Davis said she believed many people in the Chinese government valued the group's work.
041214
AF041270
©AFP 2004.. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission. http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Bridgestone Firestone Trust Fund, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2004. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
©1990, 2004 - AEGiS. AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.
