Securitizing HIV/AIDS: a game changer in state-societal relations in China?

Lo, Catherine Yuk-ping

One probable reason for the resistance to HIV/AIDS securitization is economic: the period of early HIV/AIDS outbreak coincided with the initial years of Open Door Policy and economic reform (Gaige kaifang) of China to the outside world. The thirst for economic growth and performance preceded the urgency of disease management: local authorities feared their respected jurisdictions would lose external or foreign investment if the full extent of the problem were known, or that they would be punished by superiors for failing to prevent the HIV/AIDS spread. The "cover-up" practice also oc- In response to the designated targets, the securitythreat framing of HIV/AIDS has been fully adopted in the official discourses of Chinese leaders and in official documents since 2003. Previously viewing HIV/AIDS as a "Western disease" or "non-Chinese disease", Executive Vice Minister of Health Gao Qiang stated in the HIV/ AIDS High-Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly that "HIV/AIDS is a common enemy of the whole mankind as it seriously threatens public health and safety. The Chinese government has attached great importance to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment and has treated it as a strategic issue for social stability, economic development, national prosperity and security, making it a first priority of the government work" [emphasis added] [47] . The Chinese President Hu Jintao once claimed in a 2003 public speech that "HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment is a major issue pertinent to the quality and prosperity of the Chinese nation"; whereas Premier Wen likewise asserted that "dealing with HIV/AIDS as an urgent and major issue is related to the fundamental interests of the whole Chinese nation" [emphasis added] [47] . The ideas in the speeches were restated in the official document entitled State Council Notice on Strengthening HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control (Guowuyuan guanyu qieshi jiangqiang aizibing fangzhi gongzuo de tongzi). This 2004 document explicitly demonstrated the determination of the Chinese authorities in grappling with the disease and stated that "HIV/AIDS prevention and control is linked to economic development, social stability, and national security and prosperity. Long-term commitment to respond to HIV/AIDS is hence necessary" [emphasis added] [48] . China's HIV/ AIDS prevention and control policies were further strengthened in the State Council Notice on Further Strengthening HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control (Guowuyuan guanyu jinyibu jiangqiang aizibing fangzhi gongzuo de tongzi) in late 2010, claiming that "the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS is related to the people's physical health and social and economic development, as well as to national security and the rise and fall of the nation. The Party Central Committee and the State Council have always attached great importance to the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS" [emphasis added] [49] . Based on the discourse analysis of the official documents and newspaper articles, it is argued that Chinese national leaders followed suit the international move (i.e. UNSC Resolution 1308) to securitize HIV/AIDS in the country, framing HIV/ AIDS as a threat with social, political, economic, and security implications.