The ministries of personnel and health have announced new draft national standards covering health qualifications for the recruitment of public servants. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers who are free from symptoms of the disease are now able to apply for government jobs. The two ministries put the draft out for public consultation from July 30 through August 31.

Medical experts suggest up to 120 million Chinese people may be carriers of the virus. Most show no symptoms and pose no threat to their colleagues in the workplace. Nevertheless, they often face discrimination in schooling, employment and many other aspects of their lives.

Zhou Yichao was a graduate of the prestigious Zhejiang University in east China's Zhejiang Province. In April 2003, he stabbed two local officials, killing one. He had just discovered that despite passing all his examinations and interviews, he was to be excluded from getting a job in public service because he was an HBV carrier. Zhou was later sentenced to death and executed.

Zhang Xianzhu, another graduate rejected for a post in public service after testing positive for the virus in 2003, filed the country's first HBV discrimination lawsuit against the personnel bureau of the city of Wuhu in east China's Anhui Province.

The court backed Zhang's discrimination claim, yet inexplicably did not support his request to require the government to find him a job.

In the wake of such cases and the public controversies that ensued from them, some local governments such as the Hunan provincial government and the Fuzhou municipal government revised their regulations for the recruitment of civil servants this year and opened their doors to HBV carriers.

Local health standards for the recruitment of public servants are not standardized across the country. However, almost all have been united in denying HBV carriers the right to apply for government jobs. This has given rise to widespread public opposition particularly from among the ranks of the 120 million Chinese HBV carriers who have sought support for their cause wherever they can find it.

A proposal endorsed by 1,611 citizens was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, on November 20, 2003. It asked the NPC to review the health qualification bar on HBV carriers applying for government appointments in 31 provinces, municipalities and ethnic autonomous regions. It cited violation of the Constitution and asked for increased legislative protection for HBV carriers. Under the Constitution, everyone has an equal right to employment. The proposal pointed out that China's 120 million HBV carriers face many difficulties through discrimination in schooling, employment and marriage.

An official from the Ministry of Personnel said his ministry has received similar petitions every year asking for amendment of the health qualification standards for government recruitment.

Wei Lai, a professor with the Liver Disease Research Institute of the People's Hospital of Peking University has received frequent requests from HBV carriers for help.

"Ignorance is at the roots of the discrimination and injustice suffered by HBV carriers. The fact is the virus cannot be contracted through casual contact when it is dormant," said Wei.

Wei said all hepatitis B patents and HBV carriers applaud the draft amendment but many people including public servants have expressed their concern about it. They say that HBV carriers might go on to develop hepatitis, or even more serious diseases such as liver cancer after gaining appointments as public servants.

Officials with the Ministry of Personnel said leaders of the State Council, China's cabinet, have given instructions to the relevant departments after receiving letters from citizens telling of the difficulties encountered by HBV carriers in employment and in other key areas of their lives.

"We have been working for the amendment of the health qualification standards for the recruitment of public servants all along," said Sheng Guiying, head of the Public Servant Administration Department of the Ministry of Personnel. "But it is public opinion that has now provided the impetus for the new amendment."

Following a similar event convened earlier in Wuhu by the personnel and health ministries, a specialist seminar was held in Beijing in February 2004 to discuss amending the health qualification standards for the recruitment of public servants. The delegates received reports of a petition to the NPC signed by 3,000 HBV carriers and on cases citing HBV carriers who had committed suicide following setbacks in job hunting.

"We were all astonished," said Rong Kai, a doctor with the Beijing-based Chaoyang Hospital. "The issue of hepatitis had become the focus of the amendment and public consultation on the drafted amendment on HBV carriers was considered crucial."

"Almost all the top specialists in the field have been involved in the amendment. We felt our opinions were being well respected by the officials from the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Health. They showed their great concern for the issue and attended every session of the seminar," said Rong.

"In general, the restrictions are being relaxed and I don't actually see any changes in principle. The standards are just moving closer to international criteria and I'm less concerned about the amendment itself than with its implementation," said Wei.

Supporting the efforts to eradicate discrimination against victims of infectious diseases, the NPC revised the Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases on August 28. With this revision, the NPC outlawed the discrimination.

The amended law specifically prohibits discrimination against people infected with contagious diseases, people carrying the pathogen of a contagious disease, and people who are suspected of having a contagious disease.

(China.org.cn by Chen Chao, September 23, 2004)