United Press International - September 6, 2002
Christian M. Wade, UPI Correspondent

Wan Yanhai was last seen at a gay and lesbian film event at a Beijing caf on Aug. 24, just days after the government banned the activist group he founded, according to Human Rights in China.

Wan's wife, Su Zhaosheng, a student based in Los Angeles, has not been allowed to speak with him and officials have refused to provide her with details of his detention, the rights group said.

"I am extremely worried about his health and safety," Su said. "I hope the appropriate authorities will contact me immediately, allow me to speak with Wan and allow him family visitation rights."

Su defended her husband's work as an outspoken HIV/AIDS activist and called for his colleagues and overseas activist groups to petition the Chinese government for his immediate release.

"I know my husband, Wan, would not engage in any activity that is harmful to the country and its people," she said.

An official at the State Security Bureau in Beijing, who refused to give his name, told United Press International that Wan had been detained, but refused to provide additional information.

Wan is a former Chinese health official who was fired after he took up causes of gay rights and AIDS in mid-1990s. He formed the Aizhi (AIDS) Action Project in 1994 to raise public awareness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and fight discrimination against homosexuals and AIDS sufferers.

Last month, the government effectively banned his organization, stripping it of its legal registration and closing down its offices in Beijing, according to overseas human rights groups and HIV/AIDS activists.

He was also instrumental in exposing devastating AIDS epidemic in Henan Province in central China, where tainted government blood supplies are said to have infected at least 1 million farmers before the unregulated health clinics were closed down two years ago.

Human rights groups say his significant and politically sensitive efforts to expose the extent of the HIV/AIDS epidemic among villagers in Henan have angered many senior government officials.

Local government officials in Henan are suspected of profiting from the tainted blood industry and have blocked attempts by foreign journalists and AIDS activists to visit the province.

Oddly enough, Wan's arrest comes at time when the Chinese government has been considering plans for a adopting more aggressive strategy to combat the nation's growing HIV epidemic.

After years of denial, China's Communist-led government has finally begun to acknowledge the extent of its AIDS epidemic. Last year, there were 30,736 confirmed infections in China although government and international groups estimate the number could be more than 1 million.

Earlier this year, a report issued by the United Nations strongly criticized the government for not doing enough to prevent the spread of the disease, warning that China is teetering on the brink of an massive AIDS epidemic and could have 10 million infected people by the end of the decade.

On Friday, Human Rights in China echoed a growing chorus of calls from international rights groups for Wan's immediate release, demanding that they explain his arrest and detention.

"Wan's crucial work on HIV/AIDS education is not only important humanitarian work, it also addresses critical public health needs in China," said HRIC Executive Director Xiao Qiang.

"If there is any crime committed here against the Chinese or the world, it is the government's ongoing suppression of information on this urgent health crisis," he said.

It is not yet known what the outcome of his charges will be, but capital crimes such as revealing state secrets in China often result in lengthy jail terms or possibly execution.

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