China Raises Estimates of HIV-AIDS Cases to 1 Million

China's "closed attitude" toward its growing AIDS epidemic opened slightly today when officials acknowledged that at least a million Chinese were infected with the disease and appealed for international assistance. Officials also admitted that the Chinese government had been aware of the growing AIDS problem as early as 1995. This confession was issued in compliance with the wishes of the Global Fund for AIDS, a foundation China has recently applied to for a much-needed $90 million grant. In addition, China stated that if drug companies did not agree to reduce the prices of AIDS drugs by the end of the year, it would ignore patents and manufacture them domestically. The country's previous reluctance to violate these patent laws has caused much anger among activists and experts as thousands of Chinese continue to die. – YaleGlobal