China
HIV job applicant lodges appeal against court ruling
By Zhu Qingang and Yang Dingdu (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-30 08:02
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Plaintiff seeks to raise awareness of discrimination against infection
ANQING, Anhui - An HIV-positive college graduate on Monday lodged an appeal against a district court ruling that said a local education bureau in East China's Anhui province had not unlawfully discriminated against him when it decided not to employ him after learning of his HIV status.
The young man's lawsuit against the education bureau was the first alleged case of HIV-related employment discrimination to reach a Chinese court.
"I was not the first to be discriminated against for being HIV positive and I certainly will not be the last. But I will continue to strive for the rights of China's 740,000 HIV-positive people," said the man, surnamed Wu, after he lodged his appeal at the Anqing Intermediate People's Court in Anqing city, Anhui.
He declined to give his full name out of fear of discrimination. The original trial was not open to the public and few people know of his HIV status.
Wu said that he had dreamed of becoming a teacher since he was a child, hoping the job would allow him to help his impoverished family in rural Anhui.
In pursuit of his dream, he served an internship at a private primary school, where he said the children had "adored" him.
After graduating from a college in Anqing and passing several interviews, he was about to realize his dream when the city education bureau decided not to employ him because he had failed the physical examination applicants are required to undergo.
Wu said he did not know he was HIV positive before the examination and that he has no idea how or when he contracted the infection.
He filed his suit against the bureau on Aug 26 for violating his right to a job and discriminating against him on the basis of his HIV status.
The People's Court of Yingjiang District in Anqing dismissed his claim in a ruling on Nov 12.
The condition of Wu's health disqualifies him from being a teacher and the Anqing education bureau's decision not to employ him was lawful and consistent with the relevant regulations, the court said in its verdict.
"The ruling sets a dangerous precedent. Eventually, it will prevent all HIV-positive people from having a job," said Wu's lawyer, Fang Ping.
The Anqing education bureau did not discriminate against Wu and was merely abiding by the relevant regulations, said Wei Guo, the bureau's lawyer.
"We can curb discrimination against HIV-positive people only with the support of the government and the legal system, which is what I seek to secure," Wu said.
"The case highlights the public's poor awareness of how the disease is transmitted. The discrimination results from ignorance and panic," said Zhang Beichuan, a renowned Chinese AIDS expert.
"Wu has the support of all the experts and medical workers who specialize in AIDS in China. If Wu is a teacher, his students will not contract HIV from him because the virus is transmitted via birth, blood and sex," Zhang added.
"Do not be afraid of people who are HIV positive. We can be teachers and we can do many other jobs just like everybody else," Wu said in a public letter ahead of World AIDS Day on Wednesday.
"I beg society, do not forsake us," he wrote.
Xinhua