Results tagged “disease”

If you've somehow avoided the news all weekend, the United States just passed a bill on healthcare reform, which is the first step in a long line towards actual change. Less well known (probably because of the lack of flashy partisan politics) is China's attempt to reform it's own healthcare system, which is a daunting task in its own way.

Just in time for the national day celebration, Beijing announced that it has begun a countrywide swine flu vaccination campaign. Shots were administered to thousands of students participating in the 60th anniversary parade and will be given to 65 million citizens by the end of the year, with priority placed on those in public service and the infirm. China is now the first country to implement such a campaign against swine flu: given the drastic increase in swine flue cases, we hope the effort is enough.

In a modern day version of Sophie's Choice, an American couple must leave their newly adopted Chinese daughter or risk losing their jobs in the U.S. should they remain with their daughter.

• Common sense reigns as IOC ends worldwide torch relay [Yahoo! Sports] "The International Olympic Committee decided to end the globetrotting torch relay, discontinuing an event that began with the Athens Games in 2004 and was used again by the organizers of the Beijing Games this past August. For future games, the torch will only tour the country where the games are being hosted."
• China News: Ai Weiwei: Q&A On Earthquake Toll Accounting Efforts [China Digital Times (CDT)] "Artist, activist, and blogger Ai Weiwei is leading an effort to publish the names of those who died in the May 12 Sichuan earthquake. The action has invited responses from around the globe — and questions from those most nearby, in China. Netizens asked Ai questions ranging from his thoughts on tofu dregs construction to his feelings regarding social responsibility. Ai has responded to dozens of questions found on the posts entitled “做客天涯 (一)” and “做客天涯 (二).” Below is a selection of five of these questions and responses. Translated by CDT." (Blocked in China)
• Analysts dismiss 'cyber spy' claims [China Daily] "Top analysts yesterday refuted claims by researchers hired by the Dalai Lama that China runs a cyper spy network, branding them "exaggerated" and an attempt to paint the nation as a "threat". "This is purely another political issue that the West is trying to exaggerate," said Song Xiaojun, a Beijing-based strategy and military analyst."

Is forcing men into unwanted marriages helping the spread of AIDS? According to Zhang Beichuan, a professor at Qingdao University, that—and the lack of men willing to out themselves by taking an AIDS test—has been holding back efforts to treat the endemic. HIV/AIDS was recently declared the deadliest infectious disease in the country.

Scared of AIDS? You should be. HIV/AIDS was the leading cause of death in China last year compared with other infectious diseases, claiming almost 7000 people's lives in the first nine months of 2008. China's Ministry of Health said that until three years ago, fewer than 8000 people altogether had died from HIV/AIDS. Now the total has risen to five times that many. The main cause of transmission has switched from needle use to unsafe sex. Something to think about next time you watch your friend have one too many drinks on Tong Ren Lu. Source: BBC