Chinese court to hear HIV-bias suit

ANQING, China, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- A man infected with the virus that causes AIDS is likely to be the first test case of a 2006 Chinese anti-discrimination regulation, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Zheng Jineng told The New York Times a district court in Anhui province has accepted the case. The plaintiff, an unidentified man in his 20s, says he passed written tests and interviews for a teaching job in Anqing, only to be rejected when his physical examination revealed he is HIV-positive.

Both Zheng and Yu Fangqiang, the chief coordinator for Yirenping, a Beijing legal group that paid the plaintiff's legal filing fees, said the court's decision Monday to hear the case shows the legal system has become more willing to deal with HIV discrimination. Yu said increased media attention has also been critical, with Legal Daily running an article about the Anqing case.

Courts have simply dismissed previous discrimination cases, Yu said, and other plaintiffs have abandoned plans to sue for fear their HIV status would become public.