China Lifts HIV Travel Ban

China announced that it lifted a 21-year-long ban on travelers with sexually transmitted diseases including HIV.

The China State Council, which is comparable to the White House's cabinet, made the announcement on its website late Tuesday, according to The New York Times. The council's standing committee approved the repeal on April 19. Premier Wen Jiabao signed an official decree, making the repeal effective as of April 24, according to the report.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who led the effort to end the HIV travel ban in the United States, issued a statement on Wednesday.

"This is a evidence that when the United States leads with our ideals, the world takes the power of our example very seriously," Kerry, the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, said. "We fought hard to end our own unwarranted, unjustifiable HIV travel restriction, and now China has taken the same step. I urge other nations to follow this example by striking down any law that unjustly discriminates against HIV-positive individuals."