Chinese AIDS activist Dr. Dr. Gao Yaojie was among seven winners of the 2003Ramon Magsaysay Award--Asia's version of the Nobel Prize. But Gao told RadioFree Asia (RFA) she fears trouble from the authorities if she asks forpermission to accept the award in person in August.
"I am not going to apply [for permission to go]... and accept the award,"Gao told RFA's Mandarin service. "It would be like asking for trouble. Myphone is still bugged."
Gao, a retired gynecologist, received the public service award "for herfervent personal crusade to confront the AIDS crisis in China and to addressit humanely," the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation www.rmaf.org.ph said in astatement.
She complained Wednesday about continuing ignorance and inaction in Chinaregarding AIDS.
"Just look around. How many Chinese newspapers are carrying stories aboutAIDS? In reality, AIDS is much worse than SARS," she said. "It's not just inHenan. I have received many letters from people who tell me that AIDS isalso veryserious in other places. But nobody is talking about it, so people thinkAIDS doesn't exist in other places."
The annual awards, named after the late Philippine President RamonMagsaysay, will be presented Aug. 31, organizers said. The awards wereestablished by the trustees of the New York-based Rockefeller Brothers' Fundto perpetuate Magsaysay's example of government integrity and pragmaticidealism in a democratic society.
Magsaysay, a World War II guerrilla fighter against Japanese occupation,became popular for quelling the communist rebellion in the 1950s asPhilippine defense secretary and was elected president in 1953.
Each winner will receive a certificate, a medallion with Magsaysay's image,and a cash prize.###