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CNN Sunday Morning
China Faces AIDS Crisis Head On
Aired December 01, 2002 - 08:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: China, long criticized for ignoring the impact of AIDS, is facing it head on on this World AIDS Day. The government is launching awareness and prevention campaigns. The AIDS virus has reached epidemic proportions in the world's most populous country, and it is spreading fast. Some critics say the campaign may just be too little too late. CNN's Jaime FlorCruz reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAIME FLORCRUZ, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Mobile propaganda's spreading awareness on the menace of AIDS in China.
XU ZHENGGUANG, STUDENT: This is becoming more and more serious. So this action is very serious and important. At first, I should have learned more knowledge about AIDS, and in the second I will tell the people to protect themselves from AIDS.
FLORCRUZ: Health officials say one million Chinese are infected with HIV. Experts warn the number is higher and could reach 10 million in seven years. Chinese officials are gradually facing up to the grim picture.
QI XIADQIU, MINISTRY OF HEALTH (through translator): What is certain is that AIDS is spreading at a very dangerous rate, and the epidemic has reached the brink of a catastrophe.
FLORCRUZ: Still, many Chinese know little about AIDS.
AUDREY SWIFT, INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS: The State Family Planning Commission just did a survey of general knowledge, and I think everybody was shocked at the rules. You know, fewer than 50 percent of people know, really know details about HIV, that it's transmitted through sex and blood.
FLORCRUZ: These farmers from Hunan Province contracted the virus after selling blood to supplement their family's low income. Their future is bleak.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Our children are still young and we don't want to leave them. We hope the government could give us financial help.
FLORCRUZ: She and about 20 other AIDS patients are getting free treatment in this Beijing hospital, which is experimenting with a cocktail of Chinese medicine. (on camera): AIDS awareness and treatment in China is also hampered by cultural barriers. Many of these AIDS patients are reluctant to go public, because of enduring misconceptions and stigma.
(voice-over): In fact, these patients are the luckier ones. In poor villages, many HIV sufferers are dying without medical attention. Others have died leaving behind vulnerable orphans.
DR. GAO YAOJIE, AIDS ACTIVIST (through translator): Some of the children lost one parent to AIDS. Others lost both parents. The children themselves are healthy, but I'm very worried about their survival and education.
FLORCRUZ: Dr. Gao Yaojie has helped many HIV patients. She's overwhelmed by the epidemic.
GAO (through translator): I consider the AIDS crisis the same thing as terrorist attacks and world wars.
FLORCRUZ: And these patients are the victims who desperately need compassion and help.
Jaime FlorCruz, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 1, 2002 - 08:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: China, long criticized for ignoring the impact of AIDS, is facing it head on on this World AIDS Day. The government is launching awareness and prevention campaigns. The AIDS virus has reached epidemic proportions in the world's most populous country, and it is spreading fast. Some critics say the campaign may just be too little too late. CNN's Jaime FlorCruz reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAIME FLORCRUZ, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Mobile propaganda's spreading awareness on the menace of AIDS in China.
XU ZHENGGUANG, STUDENT: This is becoming more and more serious. So this action is very serious and important. At first, I should have learned more knowledge about AIDS, and in the second I will tell the people to protect themselves from AIDS.
FLORCRUZ: Health officials say one million Chinese are infected with HIV. Experts warn the number is higher and could reach 10 million in seven years. Chinese officials are gradually facing up to the grim picture.
QI XIADQIU, MINISTRY OF HEALTH (through translator): What is certain is that AIDS is spreading at a very dangerous rate, and the epidemic has reached the brink of a catastrophe.
FLORCRUZ: Still, many Chinese know little about AIDS.
AUDREY SWIFT, INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS: The State Family Planning Commission just did a survey of general knowledge, and I think everybody was shocked at the rules. You know, fewer than 50 percent of people know, really know details about HIV, that it's transmitted through sex and blood.
FLORCRUZ: These farmers from Hunan Province contracted the virus after selling blood to supplement their family's low income. Their future is bleak.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Our children are still young and we don't want to leave them. We hope the government could give us financial help.
FLORCRUZ: She and about 20 other AIDS patients are getting free treatment in this Beijing hospital, which is experimenting with a cocktail of Chinese medicine. (on camera): AIDS awareness and treatment in China is also hampered by cultural barriers. Many of these AIDS patients are reluctant to go public, because of enduring misconceptions and stigma.
(voice-over): In fact, these patients are the luckier ones. In poor villages, many HIV sufferers are dying without medical attention. Others have died leaving behind vulnerable orphans.
DR. GAO YAOJIE, AIDS ACTIVIST (through translator): Some of the children lost one parent to AIDS. Others lost both parents. The children themselves are healthy, but I'm very worried about their survival and education.
FLORCRUZ: Dr. Gao Yaojie has helped many HIV patients. She's overwhelmed by the epidemic.
GAO (through translator): I consider the AIDS crisis the same thing as terrorist attacks and world wars.
FLORCRUZ: And these patients are the victims who desperately need compassion and help.
Jaime FlorCruz, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
