Job hunters are having hard times in China. They must compete
with hundreds of their peers for a single vacancy. An offer often
becomes a lifesaver to many anxious job hunters, especially those
carrying the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV).
China has 120 million HBV carriers, or nearly 10 percent of the
nation's population. Many have been frequently denied access to
employment. According to a current report from the China Foundation
for Hepatitis Prevention and Control (CFHPC), 77 percent of 115
Chinese firms owned or co-managed by 98 multinational companies in
the nation's 11 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong,
refuse to hire HBV carriers.
Some graduates have been denied work more than 20 times simply
because they are HBV carriers, according to a citation by Su
Chong'ao, general secretary of the foundation. According to the
survey, most of the companies made their rejections out of fear of
the disease's infectious nature. "It just proves that the employers
lack basic knowledge regarding HBV," Su commented.
According to "Outlines of Publicity and Education of HB
Prevention and Control" issued by the Ministry of Health last year,
HBV carriers can lead normal lives. They do not pose any major
threats; only mixing blood, sexual contact and birthing contact
from mother to infant can pass the disease.
Although China has long publicized regulations and basic
information about HBV, discrimination against virus carriers
remains common. The carriers have virtually been rejected from
positions ranging from companies to governments because these
organizations have imposed physical examinations on their job
applicants. But in terms of the guidelines issued by Chinese health
authorities, HBV carriers are allowed to work everywhere but in the
catering and nursery businesses.
The tests have frustrated many HBV carriers because many may
have excelled in examinations but inevitably fail the final
physical test. In April 2003, a college graduate, Zhou Yichao,
attacked two officials in charge of government recruitment in
Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, killing one and injuring another.
Zhou had passed every local civil service qualification exam, but
failed the physical examination because he tested positive in HBV.
This refusal caused Zhou to go temporarily insane and commit a
crime that cost him his own life; he was sentenced to death five
months later.
Yet the Zhou is not the only tragic exception among HBV
carriers. They seem destined for uneven careers even with
reasonable defenses. A year after Zhou's case, Zhang Xianzhu, a
non-infectious HBV carrier, won a lawsuit against the city
government of Wuhu, Anhui Province. The government was charged with
discrimination against HBV carriers; they rejected Zhang due to his
physical condition. The lawsuit took up the rights of hepatitis
carriers for the first time and marked a milestone in China's legal
history.
But the victory came out less sweet for Zhang. He had exposed a
sensitive private issue to the unfeeling public and received even
more rejections after the lawsuit. "The discrimination against HBV
carriers is a social problem, which needs at least a decade to be
rooted out," said Peng Guanghua, deputy professor from the School
of Labor Relations and Human Resources at Renmin University, in a
telephone interview with China.org.cn.
To enhance job equality, China issued the Employment Promotion
Law on August 31 of this year. The law goes into effect next year.
According to the law, employers cannot refuse job applicants simply
because they are infectious disease carriers. But carriers should
not participate in certain types of jobs regulated by the country's
legislative and administrative bureaus before they are confirmed to
be non-infectious. This law is far from the satisfactory for HBV
carriers who expected clearer legislative rulings against job
discrimination.
According to the CFHPC survey, many companies now prefer to find
outwardly valid excuses to cover their discriminatory practices
toward HBV carriers and to avoid legal hazards as well as public
criticism.
Although obstacles remain, HBV carriers have not stopped their
struggle. They have created non-government organizations and set up
websites. To seek more support they have sent proposals to
representatives of the National People's Congress to urge more
legal protection. Right after the issue of the law, Southern
Weekend, China's popular investigative newspaper, reported
that HBV carriers should remain confident because the Employment
Promotion Law is certainly not the last battle to be won.
(China.org.cn by Wu Jin September 20, 2007)