Shanghaiist was (un)fortunate enough last December to go to Shangcai prefecture out in Henan, which is where the famed "AIDS village" (艾滋病村）is located. We were shown around the hospitals and schools, always under the supervision of officials. Even though we never paid for the sumptuous meals downed with numerous bottles of beer and rice wine, and were often pestered at night by the hotel staff wanting to know if we needed a "massage", we were inclined to give the benefit of the doubt, at least in terms of moral character, to the officials -- they are skimming, no doubt, crooked, yes, but at least not to a degree that makes them utterly reprehensible, right? Wrong. Maybe -- check out this report (in Chinese) which investigates Shangcai, and tells stories of officials skimming money from overcharging for medicines, not delivering basic promises of patient care, skimming money from the salaries of doctors, and of course, not letting people with a penchant for speaking the truth mouthing off at inopportune moments out of their homes. They said that when one of the most corrupt officials quit his job, the local people set off firecrackers and that it was "more festive than Chinese New Year"!

You can also check out ESWN's blog for translations of articles from the Chinese press about the AIDS situations in particular locations.

We also recommend this article from Southern Metropolis, which tells the stories of female factory workers in Shenzhen who are part-time sex trade workers -- it's a very eye-opening piece, and has a lot of interesting stories in it -- and Shanghaiist has translated the first one into English. You can find that here.

Also, check out this article on Fudan University students, who held a debate on the concept of Sex IQ and whether or not whatever the hell this means would have any effect in preventing the spread of AIDS and other STDS.

Also on Shanghaiist:
It's still World AIDS Day somewhere in the world

Photo of AIDS patient in Henan Province by Peijin Chen.