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Taiwan proposes new policy for HIV-positive travelers

Taiwan proposes new policy for HIV-positive travelers

Taiwan's Department of Health on Monday proposed amending the country's policy of deporting HIV-positive foreigners to allow them to stay in the country for up to 14 days and not restrict the number of times they can apply for the two-week visa, the Taipei Times reports. The draft revision to the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Control Act, which has been "put on hold" by the legislature until the end of next month, would amend the current law that requires HIV-positive foreigners to be deported permanently and have their visas annulled and their names listed in official records, according to the newspaper. People from China, Macau, and Hong Kong are included as foreigners in the draft amendment. Since Taiwan began collecting HIV/AIDS data in 1984, 488 HIV-positive foreigners have been identified. Taiwan's Center for Disease Control estimates that 7% of HIV-positive people in the country are foreigners, the Times reports. Lin Ting, deputy director of Taiwan's CDC, said, "The draft is made out of respect for civil liberty, as well as out of necessity to stem the [HIV/AIDS] epidemic." However, Ivory Lin, secretary of the Persons With HIV/AIDS Rights Advocacy Association of Taiwan, said, "The point is not how long we allow them to stay; the point is whether we allow them to stay." She added, "The biggest shame is the fact that our government restricts [HIV-positive foreigners'] freedom of movement in the name of public health."

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