China may end travel ban on HIV-positive foreigners

BEIJING - China may end a decades-old travel ban on HIV-positive foreigners from visiting the country, a media report said.

The ban may be lifted after the Chinese Cabinet Monday decided to make changes to the laws barring HIV-positive foreigners from entering the country, China Daily reported Wednesday, citing sources.

Currently, foreigners suffering from mental disorders or infectious diseases like leprosy and HIV/AIDS are denied entry.

Although no timetable was disclosed, the changes are likely to be announced before the official opening of Shanghai Expo May 1, which is expected to attract four million visitors from abroad, said Hao Yang, deputy director of the health ministry’s disease prevention and control bureau.

Rules on the long-term stay, residence and immigration of HIV/AIDS sufferers will be clearly defined in the near future, he noted.

China, with an HIV-positive population of 740,000, is still among over 60 countries that deny entry to people suffering from the disease.

“The ban imposed in the 1980s due to a lack of knowledge is obsolete and discriminatory,” said He Xiong, deputy director of the Beijing centre for disease prevention and control.

“As HIV/AIDS cases have been seen in all provinces in China, a travel ban on foreigners will not help local public health,” he noted.

It also affected the global campaign against HIV/AIDS-related discrimination and stigma, he said.

In 1995, China ended the practice of mandatory HIV screening for foreigners who wanted to visit the country. Instead, they were required to disclose their health conditions, including HIV/AIDS status.