Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia - December 21, 2005
Stories of needle attacks in Shanghai, which the two suspects spread through an Internet chatroom and cell phone short messages, were "totally baseless", Xinhua said on its English language Web site, www.chinaview.cn.
"The rumours have been a very hot topic on buses, subways and the Internet since last week," it said, citing a report in the Shanghai Daily newspaper.
Police picked up the two men on charges of "disturbing social order", Xinhua said.
Rumours that irate AIDS patients had randomly injected people in the streets with their blood to protest against high treatment costs sparked panic in Beijing and the neighbouring city of Tianjin four years ago, though no infections linked to the supposed attacks were ever reported.
Two burglars were jailed in 2002 for 13 and 14 years each for robbing a flat in Tianjin and threatening the owner with needles they said were filled with HIV-tainted blood.
China has recently launched high profile campaigns to raise public awareness about HIV-AIDS to try to contain the spread of the disease, but widespread fear and ignorance have made the battle an uphill one.
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