Awareness: The United Nations' AIDS agency (UNAIDS) predicts there are about 780,000 people living with HIV in China
China plans to ban people with HIV from accessing spas, hot springs and public bathhouses, it has been revealed today.
The Chinese government has posted a draft regulation online, ordering spas and similar premises to display signs prohibiting 'people with sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS and infectious skin diseases'.
The proposal, which has been condemned by the United Nations' AIDS agency (UNAIDS), has sparked outrage among campaign groups.
It is the latest instance of ongoing discrimination against HIV carriers in the world's most populous country.
China already bans those with the virus from becoming civil servants - with HIV-positive people facing the possibility of losing their jobs if their employers discover their status.
Others HIV carriers have sought hospital treatment, only to be turned away.
Hedia Belhadj, China's coordinator for UNAIDS, said she was concerned by the proposed Ministry of Commerce rule, which was posted online by China's State Council today.
She called for it to be removed - pointing out there is no risk of transmission of HIV in a spa or bathhouse setting.
'UNAIDS recommends that restrictions preventing people living with HIV from accessing bath houses, spas and other similar facilities be removed from the final draft of this policy,' she said.
She also urged that 'any other policies preventing people living with HIV from accessing public or private services be revised'.
Campaign groups have also spoken out against the proposal, which could affect as many as 780,000 people living with HIV in China.
Debate: The proposal, which has been condemned by UNAIDS, has sparked outrage among campaign groups. Above, the United Nations' headquarters in Vienna
'The only value of this draft law is in discriminating against those with AIDS,' said, Yu Fangqiang, director of the Nanjing-based anti-discrimination NGO Justice for All.
'This law must be changed. All the HIV NGOs know this new rule, and they want to fight it.'
He added that his organisation and five other domestic NGOs are seeking to collaborate on a response.
In 2010, China lifted a long-standing ban on HIV-positive foreigners entering the country - although, in recent years, top officials have spoken more openly about HIV prevention and control.
The country has also extended access to free antiretroviral drugs for HIV-positive people.
However, discrimination against those with HIV and AIDS remains an issue at hospitals, workplaces and other establishments across China.
In January, a draft regulation in south China's Guangdong province proposed to ban people with HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases from becoming teachers.
But officials dropped the provision in April after an outcry from rights groups.
Most attempts by HIV-positive people to sue over discrimination have failed.
However, earlier this year, a plaintiff who was denied a teaching job after it was revealed he was HIV-positive was awarded 45,000 yuan (£4,605) from an east China county education bureau, state media reported.
The case marked a milestone that activists have cited as a cause for hope in future legal battles.
Ms Belhadj said that widespread stigmatisation of those with HIV in China has complicated efforts to curb its spread.
Addressing the 'stigmatisation and discrimination against people living with HIV essential in the national response,' she added.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2459431/China-ban-people-HIV-spas-public-bathhouses-condemned-United-Nations.html#ixzz2hjCQg5he
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