Widespread discrimination

According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, by the end of 2011, 3.73 million children worldwide were HIV carriers, and one of its reports showed that China had effectively treated 2,563 AIDS children by the end of 2011.

Though China has not done any surveys on HIV/AIDS-impacted children, the UN Children's Fund estimated that by the end of 2010, China had 496,000 to 894,000 children affected in some way by HIV/AIDS, and 20,000 to 27,000 of them lost parents due to the disease.

"The provinces and regions of Henan, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Yunnan, Guangdong and Guangxi have high rates of HIV, and most children get the virus from an HIV-positive mother during pregnancy," according to Zhou Hongyu, a professor with Central China Normal University and deputy to the National People's Congress. Most AIDS patients live in less developed provinces, and the poverty and discrimination from society can cause a considerable psychological burden on the children. Many underage HIV carriers are prone to depression, extreme thoughts and personality disorders, which may become a vicious circle, Zhou said.

"I once met a 17-year-old girl with HIV, she thought her disease was caused by society, and didn't believe she had a future. To take revenge, she became a prostitute to distribute the virus to others," Wei Xueyin, an HIV/AIDS social worker in Henan Province, told the Global Times.

"The discrimination against HIV/AIDS sufferers still exists, so we often tell children that they must be strong inside, and shouldn't look down on themselves. They need psychological care more than donations from society," said Wei.

In remote villages, people are still afraid of AIDS. "I once helped a 12-year-old boy who only fed on instant noodles every day, because his relatives were afraid of the disease and poured the boy's lunch in front of his room like they were feeding pigs. The boy hated his relatives and society," Wei said.

"Our 25 students are lucky because so many people are willing to help them. If we give HIV carriers a hand and help them out they will benefit our society in the future; but if we push them and discriminate against them, they would hate the society in the end and it becomes a vicious circle," said Guo.