Hayes, Anna
(2012)
Hiv/Aids In Xinjiang: A Serious "Ill"
In An "Autonomous" Region.
International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies (IJAPS), 8 (1).
pp. 78-102.
ISSN ISSN: 1823-6243
Abstract
This paper investigates the sociographic history of HIV/AIDS in the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region1 in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Xinjiang is
China’s largest province and it is located in north-west China. It is home to a
number of different minority nationalities as well as increasing numbers of Han
Chinese migrants to the region. Xinjiang is also home to a serious HIV/AIDS
epidemic and was one of the first areas to be significantly affected by HIV in
China. The serious nature of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Xinjiang, combined with
growing concerns by Xinjiang locals that the Chinese government is not doing
enough to combat HIV/AIDS among minority nationalities in the region, has the
potential to increase regional tensions and provide further fuel to the tinder box
that is ethnic relations in Xinjiang. While for the most part, tensions in the region
have been focused around separatism and minority rights, HIV/AIDS poses an
enormous threat to security within the region due to its ability to strip economic
gains and reverse social developments made there over the past few decades and
its potential to exact a huge toll in human life. Xinjiang is an important region for
China due to both its wealth of natural resources and its strategic capacity as a
buffer region between the PRC and Central Asian states. However, an everburgeoning HIV/AIDS pandemic in the region threatens to destabilise China's
grand plan for this north-western province if its HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to
grow.
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
![[img]](http://eprints.usm.my/style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png)
