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"Outside pressure helped lift travel
ban, says activist"
The
Star (www.thestar.com.my)
(24/02/07)
BEIJING: An elderly Chinese doctor who embarrassed the government by
exposing blood-selling schemes that infected thousands with HIV said on
Thursday international pressure helped force authorities to let her travel
abroad to receive an award.
After 20 days of virtual house arrest, 80-year-old Gao Yaojie was allowed to
leave her home in China's central Henan province on Thursday to fly to
Beijing where she will pick up a visa for the United States. She is to be
honoured in Washington by a non-profit group supported by Sen Hillary Rodham
Clinton.
Gao said local authorities repeatedly warned her against going abroad, and
for weeks dozens of plainclothes police were stationed outside her apartment
to prevent her from leaving.
“I think it was pressure from the world that helped change their minds,” she
said in an interview. “It was a very nasty situation before that.”
Hillary's aides said the Chinese ambassador, Zhou Wenzhong, called the
senator yesterday to tell her Gao would be allowed to travel.
Gao herself was also informed yesterday that she could go abroad.
“I think it's a sign of the progress our society has made,” Gao said of the
relaxed restrictions. “Ten years ago this could not have happened.”
The decision marked a rare turnaround for Chinese authorities who have
become increasingly open about their AIDS epidemic in recent years but
remain suspicious of independent activists who are frequently detained and
harassed.
In Washington next month, Gao will be among a handful of women from around
the world to receive leadership awards from Vital Voices Global Partnership.
— AP
Pix: Ageing fighter: Gao showing a book she wrote about AIDS in China during
an interview in Beijing on Thursday. — AP
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