8.
See N Harris, et al.,“Nutritional and Health Status of Tibetan Children Living at High Altitudes” in New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 344: No.5, 1 February 1 2001, pp. 341-347; United States Embassy Beijing, “Health Policy Challenges In The Tibetan Autonomous Region”, December 2000
19.
“Aid organisations face considerable hurdles when seeking to research or provide assistance inside Tibet. A foreign-funded aid organisation, the Project for Strengthening of Tibetan Traditional Medicine hopes to avoid attention from parties that might threaten [our] status as a legal organisation. After completing its first year treating Tibetans with Kashin-Beck disease, the group trains doctors, promotes dietary changes, provides medicines and warm clothes”, 5 December 2001
22.
The informant reported that doctors and nurses came to his county, Saga, and called the villagers for a meeting regarding medical advice. TCHRD Interview 65, 18 July 2001. A lack of health education: “They don’t give any advice. I never heard of such thing,” is, however, quoted in TCHRD Interviews 8, 23, 37, 30, 31, 34, 36, all of 2001
25.
Associated Press, “600,000 in China have AIDS and number rising by 30 percent”, , www.canoe.ca/Health010626/26_aidschina_ap.html, 26 June 2001. However, alternate reports place the likely number of those infected with HIV to be 25 times higher than this figure, and UN assessments calculate a potential 10 million HIV cases in China by 2010. See Reuters, “Chinese Measures to Slow HIV/AIDS Spread Appear Ineffective”, 20 December 2001; Reuters, “China Admits Having more than 22,000 HIV Cases”, 2 February 2001
30.
United Nations Commission on Human Rights, “Resolution on HIV/AIDS, Article 3, Resolution 1995/44”, adopted on 3 March 1995 cited in HIV Law, Ethics and Human Rights. Protective laws aside, China was swift to take measures restricting the rights of those with HIV/AIDS. Despite the commonly held view that restrictive measures are counterproductive, it seems China has no intention of repealing such laws, and continues to support legislation which discriminate those suffering from HIV/AIDS. In Hebei Province, HIV/AIDS positive individuals are not permitted to join the military, enter school, marry, or have children. They can no longer seek employment in child-care, food related or service industries. Similarly, in Chengdu City, Sichuan, HIV/AIDS positive people are now prohibited to marry, according to legislation passed in May 2001. Furthermore, women will be “encouraged” to abort if they conceive when HIV/AIDS positive. See, Wall Street Journal “AIDS Panic in China Leads to Draconian Measures, 23 March 2001; Washington Post, “Chinese City Enacts Controversial Rules for HIV/AIDS Infected People, High Risk Groups, 15 January 2001
32.
TCHRD Interview 16, 27 August 2001; TCHRD Interviews 27, 28, 31, 34, 35, 36, 58, all of 2001
65.
TCHRD Interview 28, 27 August 2001, numerous interviewees report that there are certain illnesses that are better treated by Chinese/Tibetan medicine: “If some disease has to be terminated immediately they go to the Chinese medicine doctors. And if they have to wipe out the disease from its root then they trust the Tibetan medicine doctors.” Another exile reported that “If you go to the [Tibetan] hospital the doctor will check your pulse. If he feels that you should see a Tibetan doctor he will tell you so, and if he feels you should see a Chinese [allopathic] doctor he will direct you accordingly”. TCHRD Interview 28, 27 August 2001; TCHRD Interview 64, 30 July 2001. See also Case Study 1 and TCHRD Interviews 36, 66
71.
TD, an 18-year-old from Mili Tibetan Autonomous County, Karze “TAP”, Sichuan, stated that “the public do not have faith in the doctors that are in the county hospital. It seems they take a lot of money.” The lack of available doctors is also reflected in the account from TC, a 24-year-old from Ngamring County, Shigatse Prefecture, “TAR”. In the hospital in the County, there are only “two visiting doctors and one regular doctor.” TCHRD Interview 31, 4 August 2001; TCHRD Interview 34, 8 August 2001
81.
Kashin Beck disease (osteoarthritis deformans) is a rare endemic disease, although certain regions of Tibet have prevalence rates of up to 80 percent. The effects of the disease include retardation, birth deformities, and stunted growth, while the cause of infection is unknown. See also footnote 64; “Health Policy Challenges in the Tibet Autonomous Region”, p.3
96.
See for example, International Committee of Lawyers for Tibet (ICLT), Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children (WCRWC) and TCHRD, Violence and Discrimination Against Tibetan Women, December 1998, p.10; Saunders, K. Cited in TCHRD, South East Asia Human Rights: NGO Seminar on Tibet, 1998, Dharamsala, p.31 and Tibetan Women’s Association (TWA), NGO Alternative Report on Tibetan Women, 2000, Dharamsala, p.14
