China HIV/AIDS Non-Traditional Security Chronology

1995
20 January 1995
China will host the 31st International Conference on Military Medicine (ICMM) in October 1996. The conference will host military medical personnel from up to 170 countries and will focus on the prevention and treatment of injuries caused by modern weaponry, HIV/AIDS in the military context, the use of antibiotics and the application of traditional medicine for military injuries.
––“Beijing to Hosts International Military Medicine Conference," Xinhua, 20 January 1995; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 20 January 1995, http://www.lexisnexis.com.

1996
25 October 1996
The New York Times reported that blood products called serum albumin, manufactured by a Guangzhou Military Region enterprise call Wolongsong, and sold in Guangdong and Hong Kong, has tested positive for the AIDS virus. The enterprise and military run blood bank was attached to Military Hospital No. 161 and located in Wuhan.  In April, the Ministry of Health ordered that all blood products of the Wolongsong brand be removed from the shelves and destroyed.  However, there was no warning given in the Chinese press or given to foreign workers in China. The story broke earlier this year in a New York-based Chinese newspaper, the World Journal, and a newsletter called China Focus. After initial denials, on 28 October 1996, Minister of Health Chen Minzhang confirmed that the blood products were contaminated with the AIDS virus, but no patient had been infected, and that none of the products has been exported.  Military hospitals are not normally accountable to Ministry of Health officials, The New York Times reported.
––Patrick E. Tyler, "China Concedes Blood Serum Contained AIDS Virus," New York Times, 25 October 1997, p. A3; "AIDS in Blood Scare," The Australian, 28 October 1996, p. 7; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 28 October 1996, http://www.lexisnexis.com.

1997
28 February 1997
Following the tainted blood products produced by a military manufacturing firm, the People's Military Surgeon published an article analyzing the threat HIV/AIDS has on the military. [Full Text]
––Wang Chicai, Zhang Xinsheng and Li Ying, "Impact of AIDS on the Military," Renmin Junyi (2) (People's Military Surgeon), 28 Feb 1997, pp 64-65.

2000
1 December 2000
The Chengdu Xinan Guofang Yiyao published a study about HIV infection and the effect on People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Troops in Yunnan Province.  A survey of the local population revealed the “special characteristics of the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in China.” These characteristics are as follows:

• AIDS entered China though the Simao Region of Yunnan Province from Southeast China. This occurred between 1985 and 1991. The first case in Yunnan was reported in 1991;

•  Now, the main method of HIV transmission is drug use;

•  Prior to 1993, the mode of transmission was through sexual contact, but after 1994 HIV was occurring in intravenous drug users and from mother to child;

•  “The rapid rate of the spreading of HIV/AIDS has increased in geometric proportions;”

•  “The spread of HIV infection is dominated by irregular sexual behavior (sexual transmission), and the majority has been among youths, juveniles, and unmarried people.”  The study identified this region as a “high risk AIDS environment” and forms a “tremendous threat to the troops stationed and living in this region for a long period of time.”

––“China: Study Views HIV/AIDS in Yunnan Province, Impact on Troops,” Chengdu Xinan Guofang Yiyao Vol. 10 no. 6 (01 December 2000) pp. 381-382 in FBIS CPP20010405000155.

2001
24 October 2001
The Shanghai Morning Post reported that The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will begin testing new recruits during entrance physical examinations. “Observers say the new screening process for recruits reinforces a growing fear among China’s authorities that the country faces an AIDS epidemic.”
––“Chinese Army Testing Recruits for HIV,” Hong Kong RTHK Radio 3 (Internet Version-WWW) in English, 24 October 2001 in FBIS CPP20011024000126.

2003
7 March 2003
The 15,000 troops serving as part of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) will take part in a "groundbreaking initiative to disseminate information about HIV/AIDS throughout the community in hopes of slowing the spread of infection." During the first step, UN peacekeepers will receive training in HIV/AIDS prevention, gender awareness and women's rights. "This program represents a breakthrough because it acknowledges the critical role peacekeepers can play in preventing HIV infection and protecting women's rights," said Florence Butegwa, regional program director for the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). China currently contributes 11 observers  to the Sierra Leone Mission.
––"UN Peacekeepers in Sierra Leone to Help Fight Disease," UN Wire, 7 March 2003 in http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20030307/32471_story.asp; International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), The Military Balance 2003/03, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), pg. 148.

17 November 2003
Chinese Permanent Representative to the Untied Nations Wang Guangya called on the United National Security Council to play a dual role in “facilitating the global struggle against the spread of HIV/AIDS,” reported Xinhua. Wang welcomed the measures taken by the UN Security Council to increase HIV/AIDS awareness and revising the code of conduct for UN peacekeepers. Secondly, Wang “expressed hope” that the Security Council would increase its cooperation and support with other international organizations and help reach the Millennium goals in combating HIV/AIDS.