Enactment of Laws Urged to Prevent AIDS from SpreadingA lawmaker has asked the National People's Congress to enact laws and regulations to protect the rights and interests of AIDS patients and check the deadly disease from spreading.He Peisong, an official of the Guangxi Artistic Creation Center in Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, proposed that the Regulations Governing Management of AIDS patients be promulgated promptly. He said the regulations will serve as an effective measure to check AIDS virus from spreading, protect people from becoming infected, and protect AIDS patients' lawful rights and interests. He said that the new laws and regulations shall protect AIDS patients and their dependents from being discriminated against, and that they should enjoy the rights and social welfare as granted by laws. "We should not deprive AIDS patients and their dependents of the right to work and study, to receive medical care and to take part in social activities," he said. He added: ˇ°We should neither deprive their children of the right to go to kindergartens and schools, and find jobs." Government departments and social organizations are required to care for AIDS patients, educate them, help them solve problems and support them in combating the disease, and ensure their normal life, work and study. Moreover, the principle on confidentiality should be formulated, he said. Those diagnosing, treating and managing AIDS patients should not disclose relevant information to others, he said. No unit or individual may release the names and addresses of AIDS patients, as well as relevant personal information, in order to prevent social discrimination, he noted. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |