The vast majority of Chinese internet users say they are in favour of draft regulations which would ban HIV-positive people from spas, according to survey results by Sina Weibo published on Tuesday. Out of the more than 10,000 people who participated in the survey, 72.9 per cent said they wanted HIV-positive people banned for “safety reasons”. 21.4 per cent said they were against the ban. Sina did not specify the exact number of people who were polled. The survey comes days after China’s State Council published draft regulations for the bathing industry on its website for public consultation. The proposed regulations ban people “with sexually transmitted diseases, Aids and infectious skin diseases” from spas and bath houses. The Ministry of Commerce regulations, aimed at bringing hygiene and safety standards to a largely unregulated industry, are expected to be passed by the National People’s Congress next year. On Monday, the China country co-ordinator for UNAIDS Hedia Belhadj called for the measure to be scrapped from the final version of the text, stressing that there was no risk of transmission of HIV in such settings. The Beijing News , a liberal daily newspaper in the capital, condemned the proposed ban in an editorial on Tuesday. “It is evident that these regulations violate the law, are contrary to scientific consensus and are openly discriminatory against HIV-positive people,” it read. The Beijing Morning News also cited experts condemning the regulations as futile and discriminatory. In 2010, China earned plaudits for revoking a controversial entry ban for foreigners living with HIV/Aids, ending the decade-long practice days ahead of the start of the Shanghai World Expo. As of the end of last year an estimated 780,000 people were living with HIV/Aids in China, according to the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. Last year, 11,575 people with Aids-related illnesses died in the country, up 24.9 per cent compared to 2011, the centre said.
