Lei Chuang, a Hepatitis B virus carrier in China, has successfully obtained a health certificate, a pass that allows him to work in the food industry.
Lei is said to be the first lucky person of the unfortunate group to get the certificate since the implementation of Regulation on the Implementation of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China which lifts the ban on Hepatitis B virus carriers. However, the course of his applying for the certificate was not a smooth one.
Lei, who is 22 years old, is a new graduate from Zhejiang University. Even though his major has nothing to do with food and he had never thought of working in the food industry after his graduation, when he learned that the Regulation no longer bans Hepatitis B carriers from the food industry and that Hepatitis B carriers in Hangzhou can apply for a health certificate with the local health department, he submitted an application in the hope of verifying the new Regulation and protecting the right of Hepatitis B patients. He was turned down by Xihu District Health Bureau that said there was not an official document from the superior health department saying that the certificate shall be issued to the special group. Just when he was considering filing an administrative lawsuit, he was told he would be granted a certificate, which he thought to be extremely significant and marked a great victory of Hepatitis B carriers.
It is believed that there is still a long way to go before people can accept the fact that a Hepatitis B carrier is serving them in a restaurant. A local restaurant owner was quoted as saying that although he would hire Hepatitis B carriers with a health certificate, he would not let his customers know, since this might harm his business.
