The Guardian - China-China fuels global surge in mpox cases as LGBTQ stigma hampers response
September 22, 2023 4 min 652 words
这则报道揭示了一个令人担忧的现实：中国的mpox（原名猴痘）病例急剧增加，正在全球引发大规模传播，而LGBTQ+群体在这一疫情中受到社会歧视的限制，妨碍了疫情的有效应对。 首先，我们看到全球mpox病例在短短一周内激增328%，其中大部分增长来自中国。世界卫生组织（WHO）表示，中国正经历“持续社区传播”，这个病毒去年九月首次以输入性病例的形式被发现。虽然病毒的名称已于2022年由WHO更名为mpox，以减少歧视和社会污名，但疫情却没有得到有效遏制。 令人担忧的是，尽管大部分mpox病例曾主要发现在男同性恋者中，但最近有五名女性在八月份被检测出患病，这引发了疫情可能更广泛传播的担忧。然而，中国LGBTQ+活动家面临越来越大的压力，限制了他们倡导的能力，也增加了LGBTQ+群体的社会污名。 这个问题可能导致人们不愿接受检测，尤其是因为中国大陆目前没有提供疫苗，尽管官方媒体报道正在研发国产疫苗。这个问题的根本在于，不应该依赖威胁来引导人们主动接受医疗救助。 另一令人担忧的问题是，中国政府似乎对LGBTQ+群体采取了限制措施，关闭了多个关注同性恋、跨性别和女权议题的社交媒体帐户，并关闭了北京LGBT中心等多个LGBTQ+权益组织，这对该社群产生了巨大影响。 最终，报道还提到，在中国，虽然有有关mpox的报告和社交媒体上有关症状识别的信息，但LGBTQ+人群可能不太可能关注这些信息。这问题不仅在于信息传播，更在于如何将这些信息传递到社区。 总之，这则报道揭示了一个复杂的问题，即中国的mpox疫情激增，但LGBTQ+群体面临社会歧视和政府限制，这可能导致疫情的加剧。政府应该采取措施，促进包容和教育，以有效应对这一威胁，而不是加大社会歧视的压力。同时，全球社区也应关注这一问题，提供支持和资源，以确保LGBTQ+群体在健康危机中得到应有的关注和帮助。
China is fuelling a global surge in mpox cases, accounting for the majority of new cases reported in September, according to the World Health Organization.
The number of weekly cases reported globally increased by 328% in the week to 10 September, data shows. Most of that jump came from China, where more than 500 new cases were reported in August. The WHO said China was experiencing “sustained community transmission” of the virus, which was first detected as an imported case in September last year.
Mpox was previously known as Monkeypox but renamed by the WHO in 2022 in an effort to help tackle discrimination and stigma.
In July, the Chinse Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported for the first time that the disease was spreading domestically, with 106 cases recorded in June. Since then cases have surged by nearly 400%, with the true number of infections thought to be much higher than the official count.
Five women tested positive for the disease in August, leading to concerns that the virus, which has predominantly been found among men who have sex with men, is spreading more widely.
On Wednesday, the Chinese government started treating mpox under the same protocols as Covid-19, meaning that the authorities can take emergency measures such as restricting gatherings to curb the spread of the disease.
The majority of mpox cases since 2022 have been in men who have sex with men and 92.5% of cases in August were among that demographic. But in recent years the pressure on LGBTQ+ activists in China has increased, limiting their ability to advocate and increasing the social stigmatisation of LGBTQ+ people.
Experts believe that this could make people less likely to get tested. Vaccinations are not available in mainland China, although state media reported that a domestic vaccine is being developed. “Public health concerns are one of the only ways of discussing gay men in public discourse,” said Chuncheng Liu, a medical sociologist. “[But] you cannot rely on scaring people to come to you for help.”
In August, several accounts on the messaging app WeChat dedicated to gay, trans and feminist issues were closed down without explanation. In May, the Beijing LGBT Center, one of China’s best known LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, closed down for undisclosed reasons. It had been one of the last active civil society groups after LGBT Rights Advocacy China, another influential NGO, closed in 2021.
The closures had a “huge influence for the community”, said one LGBTQ+ activist, who left China in recent years because of pressure from the authorities, “because it says that the government is still trying to target them”.
While the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has been publishing reports about mpox, and there is uncensored information on social media about recognising symptoms, Liu noted that LGBTQ+ people might not be following those accounts. “The problem is not about information or about a specific message,” Liu said. It is about how to “circulate this message to the community”.
A report published in September by Outright International, a New York-based LGBTQ+ rights organisation, said activists in China were “increasingly restricted” by the government. One anonymous activist said police had encouraged them to “just focus on providing services like HIV prevention and care”, while groups that mention the words “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer” are often refused official registration.
Many LGBTQ+ groups started out with a focus on HIV/Aids awareness, making their case to the authorities on the groups of public health rather than political rights.
But in the early 2010s, as HIV/Aids prevention and treatment became more established in China, support from international donors such as the Global Fund and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, started to dry up. And in 2016, Beijing passed a foreign NGO law that restricted the ability of domestic groups to work with foreign organisations or receive international funding.
Additional research by Tau Yang and Tzu-Wei Liu