Chapter 9  Stand up Against AIDS

Money means nothing to me. It’s just like toilet paper.                                                        By Li Jinzhang  

On May 23, 2003, not long after AH Xiang’s death, the report about hemo-AIDS infection in Asia hit the headline of New York Times. Reporters interviewed Li Jinzhang in Zhanghua. For the first time, Li appeared on a international media. The news report gave new hope to the victims in Taiwan. They began a international law suit against the American company, Bayer. In no time, law offices from the US and Taiwan rushed to the victims. The hemo-AIDS victims turned from a group that was struggling badly a few years ago into one of the hottest spots.

In October 2003, the law suit was still going on. Li borrowed a used car from his brother. He paid an art workshop 600 NTD and asked them to make a poster AIDS Prevention, red and bold. Then he drove to AH Xiang’s house, where he and AH Xiang’s brothers put the poster on the car windows.

“Money means nothing to me. It’s just like toilet paper.” After his best friend, AH Xiang’s death, Li Jinzhang made up his mind to live a different life. He would no longer talk about the past, such as how they got infected. Instead, he would devote himself to the prevention of AIDS.

During his visit in Taipei, Li Jinzhang toured around Ximenting(西門町), where many youngsters like to hang out. Standing on the sidewalk, Li murmured to himself, “Some day I will organize pop concerts here. I will hand out leaflets to the young people and tell them the importance of AIDS prevention.” After that, he limped across the zebra line and headed for the coach station to return his hometown in Zhanghua.

Li Jinzhang said, “I kept asking myself, what will others think of me ? Are they afraid of me ? So I am not willing to go out” Despite the fear of discrimination, he managed to stand up and go outside, because he had a dream. He bought hundreds of condoms and put them into small red packs, together with a note “Say No to AIDS, Stay Healthy Forever.” When it was time the middle schools were over and streams of students were coming out, he would drive his old car, with the red bold poster AIDS Prevention, to the school gate and hand out the red packs. But some students just kept the condoms and threw the red packs away.

“When the new year comes, I will put one dollar inside each pack. Then, people won’t throw the packs away.” Li planned. Some people thought he was stupid. They said it was the government’s duty to prevent AIDS. They advised him to keep the money he got from the medicine factory for himself and live a better life. However, he asked friend to trust the money and set some aside, which he used in the published of the book he wrote about his infection and his striving. He insisted that “every single penny should be spent on AIDS prevention.”

Besides schools, Li Jinzhang also went to train station to hand out the red packs. A forty-year-old taxi driver was interested. He opened the red pack and joked: “How do people get it (he meant AIDS), through prostitutes?” Li Jinzhang also smiled, “Yes! It’s safest to use condoms all the time.” Two high school students came up for the condom, “ How can we contact you if we need more ?”Li said to them, “You can buy in a drugstore”. After all was done, Li made his way home. The car was full of so many cardboard boxes with condoms and leaflets that there was hardly any room left. Li Jinzhang felt contented, “Now people will notice this car even when I’m not handing out red packs.”  Li Jinzhang knew that what he could do was limited. But he would never give up the dream, which he stuck up to all his life. He said, “I am quite aware of the difficulties. But if nobody stood up to try, the dream would die. ” He wished to live longer because he had so many things to do.  

Unfortunately, just before the traditional Chinese new year, he went to the hospital because of  prolonged cough. He was diagnosed TB. He used to hate any medicine, but this time he began to take medicine for a Whole month! X-ray showed that the disease was under control and not longer infectious. It would take several months to cure the TB. And the side effects of medicine were sometimes unbearable. But Li made up his mind to finish the treatment because he wanted to live. He even gave up smoking, his only “enjoyment.” Taking medicine and giving up smoking were two major decision made by Li Jinzhang. He really wanted to live. Life is short and full of sufferings. However, once you stop worrying about these, you will find a world much wider. 

In Autumn 2003, Li Jinzhang, still weak, came to Taipei again. His deformed joints confined him. He could only limp slowly. He became even thinner and his cheeks were hollow. Together with volunteer, lawyers and some victims, he visited the Department of Health to appeal for establishing “law of hemo-AIDS victims”. But the tragic fate struck them again. Mr. L, a Hemo patient whose body was quite strong, had a car accident. He was severely hurt in the head and remained in a heavy stupor.

The intracranial hemorrhage was so severe that blood kept flowing out from nose, mouth and ears even after the coagulation factor was infused. The nostrils were stuffed with soft paper, but it didn’t work. The bleeding could not be stopped. In the end, Mr. L became turgid and the doctor sent notice of critical illness. Mrs. L fainted outside the ICU room. Sons and daughters and relatives took turns to keep watch. At that time Li was too weak to travel the long way to the hospital. He himself had been lying in the bed for many day. He didn’t even have enough strength to talk on the phone. A few syllables would exhaust him.

Mr. L passed away. The next day, his old mother drank pesticide and died. She wished to accompany her dear son. Half awake half asleep, Li Jinzhang knew about the death of Mr. L. At that time, he was so weak that he was not able to answer the phone. Nobody knew what he was thinking about.