The earthquake was a mixed blessing for Li Xige, an Aids activist from Ningling county, Henan province, who had been detained by police in a hotel.
'I fled from the hotel as the officers were apparently carried away by the quake and the panic,' she said.
Ms Li, 40, has been petitioning governments since she and her daughter contracted HIV from a blood transfusion after a Caesarean delivery in 1995. She had been confined to a hotel in Ningling county since May 3 when officers took her from her home.
Police often round up people they perceive as troublemakers ahead of visits by senior central government officials. Premier Wen Jiabao wrapped up a trip to Henan before heading to Sichuan .
But Ms Li later had a change of heart and returned to the hotel as she feared reprisals by the police.
