HIV-positive patients used for demolition, debt collection (2)

Wang Xiangcai (pseudonym), an AIDS patient from Zhumadian, has repeatedly been a member of the demolition and debt collection teams since 2009, the Beijing News reported.

He knew at least 300 HIV/AIDS patients through medical training organized by the local government that mainly taught patients to take their daily medicine. They would contact each other if one of them was reached by some construction companies or debt collecting companies.

Wang recalled one of the demolition cases when he and other 17 AIDS patients in two villages were hired to help a construction team in 2009. The local residents have formed a human wall to stop the construction company from work when Wang arrived, and the crowds immediately dispersed after Wang and his friends took out their AIDS identity cards and tried to grab their arms.

"I was so scared when one of the patients tried to pull me, and I ran away immediately," a villager who joined the human wall recalled his experience to the Beijing News.

In that case, the construction company allegedly offered 100,000 yuan to deal with the incident. Wang and his friends earned 100 yuan plus free meals and a pack of cigarettes for one day of work.

Besides Wang and his friends, dozens of AIDS patients from other nearby townships were also hired at the same salary of 100 yuan to help the construction team at the scene.

For debt collection, Wang and his friends' business expanded to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Collections involving a small number of money usually need five or six patients, but some cases involving the recovery of large sums would require a team of about 10 patients.

Wang said he survived by doing odd jobs. Collecting debts or helping demolishing by using his AIDS identity was relatively easy and profitable. Since most patients were too sick to do physical work, and lacked education or funds, the only way to support their family was by taking advantage of their identity.

In Henan's Runan county alone, there were over 400 AIDS patients and less than 100 HIV carriers as of the end of 2010, Yan Haoxuan, with the local health bureau, told the Beijing News.

Corrupt chain

Although the construction project leader in Nanyang AIDS demolition case denied that the construction company Yi'an was involved, two lists found in Yi'an's offices by Xinhua reporters may reveal a rather different story.

The lists showed the Yi'an company was only granted a project planning certificate, and had no qualification in land use and construction permit, Xinhua said.

The records also showed officials had attended banquets given by the company and received gifts. The Nanyang government released investigation results on Tuesday, revealing that 25 civil servants attended a Spring Festival party organized by Yi'an in early 2014, and each received a voucher worth 500 yuan, thepaper.cn reported.

One employee commented anonymously on the effects of such ties.

"In practice, the government has no money to resettle the residents, so they would find real estate developers first to use their money for the resettlement. Then the developers would demolish the site and apply for the related certificates for construction at the same time," the employee said.

Cases of forced demolition have been common in recent years. The Ministry of Land and Resources issued an urgent notice in 2011 demanding provincial level government to inspect the demolition procedures and resident resettlement process and saying that illegal demolition or resettlement would be seriously punished.