At first I tried to capsulize Phillip Pan’s mammoth article about Li Dan and the orphanage he created to house the orphans of Chinese AIDS victims. But there is too much to the story, and it is so complex, made up of so many episodes and sub-plots, I decided it would take me too long and wipe me out. So let me just urge you to check out the story, which speaks to so many aspects of what’s going on in China today, from glimmerings of new hope and freedom to awful disappointments, including the famous closing of the orphanage and Li’s persecution as he continued fighting to help AIDS victims.
I was really upset when I heard a few months ago that John Pomfret was leaving the WaPo’s Beijing bureau, but Pan is doing an amazing job in his place.
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By ts
i posted this article on the chinadaily forum and, surprisingly, it’s been left up. i think there are some sympathizers among the chinadaily staff, which is reasonable for any right-thinking chinese.
http://bbs.chinadaily.com.cn/forumpost.shtml?toppid=182399
here’s the comment i added to the article:
li dan is only 25 years-old. he used to be a student at the chinese academy of sciences and a cmmunist party member. now, he has devoted his life to helping aids victims out of patriotism and love for his fellows.
this story shows the problem china’s central government has in stopping the abuses of local officials. this aids activist in henan has not been able to serve the region’s aids victims because of opposition from local government officials.
the question is: will the beijing government intervene? will media such as chinadaily support the aids victims, or will the repress stories such as this, allowing local officials to continue in their abuse?
September 15, 2004 @ 8:59 am | Comment