On November 30, 2008, Vice President Vincent Siew spoke at a “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise-Leadership” event to commemorate 2008 World AIDS Day.Mr. Siew commended grassroots AIDS groups’ long-term efforts to strengthen HIV/AIDS prevention and control.He also noted that grassroots groups would continue to play important roles in the promotion of HIV/AIDS prevention and control and expressed his wish for a world free from the threat of HIV/AIDS.

Mr. Siew stressed that Taiwan is one of the few countries that provide free medical care to those with HIV/AIDS. In order to ensure all HIV/AIDS patients are properly cared for and to prolong the lives of HIV/AIDS patients, the government annually allocates a budget to cover all expenses related to HIV/AIDS medical treatments. Last year, the ‘HIV Infection Control and Patient Rights Protection Act’ was amended to further strengthen the legal framework protecting the rights of HIV/AIDS patients.

Vice President Siew spoke at the event and urged opinion leaders to set good examples for the general public by ensuring HIV/AIDS patients receive sufficient medical care, housing, and basic support.The Vice President said that people should learn the facts about HIV/AIDS, treat HIV/AIDS patients with the dignity they deserve, and be compassionate rather than discriminatory towards HIV/AIDS patients. These behaviors and attitudes are critical to controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS and building a health nation.

Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) of the Department of Health organized a series of events in association with World AIDS Day 2008 at the Grand Hotel and the National Democracy Monument Hall. Vice-President Siew spoke at a press conference held at the Grand Hotel. A documentary film, which told the story of Taiwanese non-profit organizations and HIV/AIDS victims, was unveiled at the press conference. The title of the film played was ‘We Are All Here—Visible Power. Being Together’.

The Minister of Health, Ching-Chuan Yeh, also attended the event. Minister Yeh said that HIV/AIDS control and prevention in Taiwan has kept pace with global trends. Taiwan began fighting HIV/AIDS at early stage. To help reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS, the government established an interagency commission to integrate the resources of various government agencies and grassroots groups to promote the AIDS prevention campaign. Public health policies also focus more on proacive HIV/AIDS control and prevention efforts instead of passive provision of medical treatment. After several years of hard work, negative growth in the number of newly reported AIDS cases for the first time was witnessed in 2006. This decline showed that the integrated and comprehensive approach to HIV/AIDS health education and treatment was paying dividends.

In 2008, “AIDS Prevention Troops” were formed by Harley-Davidson motorcycle riders. They joined a parade and participated in four pledge ceremonies across the nation to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS prevention. To wrap up the campaign, all participating motorcycle riders gathered at the National Taiwan Democracy Monument Hall. TV celebrity, Mei-Feng Chen, was invited to participate in the event as a special guest and joined the motorcycle parade. All the motorcycles were adorned with red ribbons and gathered to form the pattern of a huge red ribbon to symbolize participants’ support and concern for HIV/AIDS victims and the determination to fight HIV/AIDS.

Taiwan CDC Director, Hsu-Sung Kuo, pointed out that, to effectively prevent and control HIV/AIDS, it is necessary to have accurate knowledge about how HIV/AIDS is transmitted. AIDS is preventable and there are a number of things that can be done to reduce the risk of contracting or transmitting HIV/AIDS: 1. use condoms when having sex; 2. do not share syringes or razors with others to avoid exposure to blood from injuries; 3. pregnant women should undergo AIDS screening to prevent mother-to-infant transmission. These prevention methods are simple, easy and feasible for everyone to implement. World AIDS Day aims not only at raising public awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention and control, but also of the need to value the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. Having accurate information about the disease is a critical factor in eliminating discrimination and increasing the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS prevention and control efforts.

For the “AIDS Prevention Troops” campaign, Taiwan CDC designed “postcards of love” on which participants wrote down their blessings and encouragement for AIDS patients. These “postcards of love” will be delivered to the domestic AIDS organizations and then to AIDS patients as an expression of society’s concern.