The ministries of personnel and health have announced new draft
national standards covering health qualifications for the
recruitment of public servants. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers
who are free from symptoms of the disease are now able to apply for
government jobs. The two ministries put the draft out for public
consultation from July 30 through August 31.
Medical experts suggest up to 120 million Chinese people may be
carriers of the virus. Most show no symptoms and pose no threat to
their colleagues in the workplace. Nevertheless, they often face
discrimination in schooling, employment and many other aspects of
their lives.
Zhou Yichao was a graduate of the prestigious Zhejiang
University in east China's Zhejiang Province. In April 2003, he
stabbed two local officials, killing one. He had just discovered
that despite passing all his examinations and interviews, he was to
be excluded from getting a job in public service because he was an
HBV carrier. Zhou was later sentenced to death and executed.
Zhang Xianzhu, another graduate rejected for a post in public
service after testing positive for the virus in 2003, filed the
country's first HBV discrimination lawsuit against the personnel
bureau of the city of Wuhu in east China's Anhui Province.
The court backed Zhang's discrimination claim, yet inexplicably
did not support his request to require the government to find him a
job.
In the wake of such cases and the public controversies that
ensued from them, some local governments such as the Hunan
provincial government and the Fuzhou municipal government revised
their regulations for the recruitment of civil servants this year
and opened their doors to HBV carriers.
Local health standards for the recruitment of public servants
are not standardized across the country. However, almost all have
been united in denying HBV carriers the right to apply for
government jobs. This has given rise to widespread public
opposition particularly from among the ranks of the 120 million
Chinese HBV carriers who have sought support for their cause
wherever they can find it.
A proposal endorsed by 1,611 citizens was submitted to the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's
top legislature, on November 20, 2003. It asked the NPC to review
the health qualification bar on HBV carriers applying for
government appointments in 31 provinces, municipalities and ethnic
autonomous regions. It cited violation of the Constitution and
asked for increased legislative protection for HBV carriers. Under
the Constitution, everyone has an equal right to employment. The
proposal pointed out that China's 120 million HBV carriers face
many difficulties through discrimination in schooling, employment
and marriage.
An official from the Ministry of Personnel said his ministry has
received similar petitions every year asking for amendment of the
health qualification standards for government recruitment.
Wei Lai, a professor with the Liver Disease Research Institute
of the People's Hospital of Peking University has received frequent
requests from HBV carriers for help.
"Ignorance is at the roots of the discrimination and injustice
suffered by HBV carriers. The fact is the virus cannot be
contracted through casual contact when it is dormant," said
Wei.
Wei said all hepatitis B patents and HBV carriers applaud the
draft amendment but many people including public servants have
expressed their concern about it. They say that HBV carriers might
go on to develop hepatitis, or even more serious diseases such as
liver cancer after gaining appointments as public servants.
Officials with the Ministry of Personnel said leaders of the
State Council, China's cabinet, have given instructions to the
relevant departments after receiving letters from citizens telling
of the difficulties encountered by HBV carriers in employment and
in other key areas of their lives.
"We have been working for the amendment of the health
qualification standards for the recruitment of public servants all
along," said Sheng Guiying, head of the Public Servant
Administration Department of the Ministry of Personnel. "But it is
public opinion that has now provided the impetus for the new
amendment."
Following a similar event convened earlier in Wuhu by the
personnel and health ministries, a specialist seminar was held in
Beijing in February 2004 to discuss amending the health
qualification standards for the recruitment of public servants. The
delegates received reports of a petition to the NPC signed by 3,000
HBV carriers and on cases citing HBV carriers who had committed
suicide following setbacks in job hunting.
"We were all astonished," said Rong Kai, a doctor with the
Beijing-based Chaoyang Hospital. "The issue of hepatitis had become
the focus of the amendment and public consultation on the drafted
amendment on HBV carriers was considered crucial."
"Almost all the top specialists in the field have been involved
in the amendment. We felt our opinions were being well respected by
the officials from the Organization Department of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Ministry of
Personnel, and the Ministry of Health. They showed their great
concern for the issue and attended every session of the seminar,"
said Rong.
"In general, the restrictions are being relaxed and I don't
actually see any changes in principle. The standards are just
moving closer to international criteria and I'm less concerned
about the amendment itself than with its implementation," said
Wei.
Supporting the efforts to eradicate discrimination against
victims of infectious diseases, the NPC revised the Law on the
Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases on August 28. With
this revision, the NPC outlawed the discrimination.
The amended law specifically prohibits discrimination against
people infected with contagious diseases, people carrying the
pathogen of a contagious disease, and people who are suspected of
having a contagious disease.
(China.org.cn by Chen Chao, September 23, 2004)