If the police (in fact if ANYONE!) stopped me and demanded a sample of my blood, I'd give them a righteous "Jog off!" before pacing it in the opposite direction. I don't like giving away my details, let alone liquids from my body. Then again, beyond the wimpish bravado, I'm actually not so confident what I'd do if hijacked at an airport and forced to give my blood for testing; that is essentially what the Chinese goverment is enforcing at their borders - and all in the name of detecting that not-so frightening disease, HIV.
This is nothing more than a breach of human rights, and I for one, am hoping this disgraceful technique doesn't catch on. Reporter Ben Anderson and I took to the streets of London to see what our public thought about the issue. Here's our piece for Ctrl.Alt.Shift:
Vox Pops: Give Me Your Blood
Have you ever fell innocently into the stop-and-search arm of the law? Well never mind name and address, imagine having to give up your blood to prove you are not HIV positive.
Random blood tests on border-crossing travellers are becoming an ever-more current process in China as they strive on to prevent the disease from spreading. In fact, the number of check-ups this year has already leaped to an astounding 756,000, a considerable increase from last year’s 65,900. And how to they choose: from spotting the symptoms, which for HIV can be anything from loss of hair to excessive yawning (so you know best not to have jet-lag).
Is this another violation of human rights (like getting stopped by the feds for wearing your hood up), or is it sufficient protection of China’s welfare?
We hit the streets and asked our people would they be pissed or smile, comply and say thank you, if chosen for a compulsory random blood test. Then knowing the severity of the HIV issue in China, we asked them to guess how many check-ups have been carried out in 2008 in comparison with the 65,000 figure. Finally Ctrl.Alt.Shift put the government in their hands and asked for a solution to the golden question: Just how do you stop the spread of HIV?
Abdi, 16:
“Taking random blood tests? I wouldn’t mind you know, it seems fair. I think that the figure in China probably doubled to like maybe 130,000 in 2008. And if I was in government I’d probably do the same thing. I think it’s great, it’s a good thing to do as you know exactly who has it and you can keep a record of them.”
Marie, 17:
“No that’s just wrong. It’s something personal you know - blood is something you don’t give away nilly-willy. I’m guessing the number of random blood tests in China jumped to about 80,000 this year. As for a solution, well I think kids need to be more educated about contraception. Sex-ed needs to be less taboo to talk about. Parents, teachers and the kids need to be able to discuss it easily. Maybe that will help stop spread HIV.”
Read the full article here
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