A court in Henan province has dismissed a libel lawsuit against Aids activist Gao Yaojie, who was being sued by a private herbal medicine developer. But the plaintiff claims it is not over and says he will appeal to a higher court.
Dr Gao, 77, was sued by Li Demin over an article printed in her newsletter entitled: 'Don't you feel ashamed to cheat Aids patients out of their money?' The article said untrained 'folk doctors' had made false claims about their Aids remedies to promote sales and make huge profits.
A court in Zhengzhou city ruled against Mr Li saying that since Dr Gao did not name the plaintiff, it had in no way damaged his reputation. He has been ordered to pay court fees of 910 yuan (HK$855).
Mr Li, who is also a construction worker, had claimed that although he was not directly named in the article, his reputation was damaged by Dr Gao's condemnation of his claim that the herbal Aids remedy he had developed was 100 per cent effective.
Dr Gao said the ruling did not mean much. 'Li Demin is construction worker with no medical licence,' she said. 'He is not doing this of his own accord. He has been taking advantage of those who profited from the illegal sale of blood and possibly even government officials who want revenge against me.'
Dr Gao, who has devoted the past seven years to Aids education, claims her work has led to frequent harassment and threats from those wishing to hide the extent of the problem on the mainland.