China has announced that it will lift the two-decades old ban on the entry of foreigners with HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, and leprosy.
According to two rules released by China's State Council on April 27, 2010, the country has learned that these diseases are transmitted during daily contact and it has that realized such a ban has a very limited effect on the prevention and control of these diseases, and conversely it has resulted much inconvenience for the country when hosting international events.
In the past China has temporarily lifted the ban for various big events including the 1990 Beijing Asian Games, the 1995 World Conference on Women, the 2007 The Global Fund Board Conference, and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Lifting the ban in these cases had not had any negative effect to the nation's stability, but instead it helped to improve the nation's image in the international community.
In addition to the above mentioned three diseases, China has also made revisions on the entry of foreigners with mental illness and tuberculosis, saying that only those with serious mental disorders and highly infectious tuberculosis will be banned from entering the country.
At present, 110 countries and regions around the world do not have bans on the entry of HIV/AIDs patients.
