A district court gave hepatitis B carriers a victory on Friday
while saying the local government was wrong to discriminate against
Zhang Xianzhu.
It is the first case in China involving the rights of a
hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrier.
Zhang, an HBV carrier, sued the Personnel Affairs Bureau of
Wuhu, in East China's Anhui
Province, in October 2003 after being rejected for a public
servant's position.
In backing his claim, the People's Court of Xinwu District of
Wuhu said the report from a local hospital, entrusted by Wuhu
government to conduct health examinations, which says Zhang was not
qualified to be a civil servant, violates provincial standards.
HBV carriers can be separated into several kinds of groups based
on the specific virus and its potential spread. Zhang does not
belong to the seven groups mentioned in Anhui's provincial health
standards not qualified for public service.
Therefore, the court said, the Wuhu government could not deny
Zhang's application based on the report but should have obeyed
provincial standards.
The decision to stop Zhang's application for the public service
lacked merit, the court concluded.
It asked the authorities to withdraw the decision.
While Zhang said he is satisfied with the verdict, it is
unlikely he will start work any time soon.
The Wuhu government finished hiring in 2003 and the position
Zhang had applied for has been filled.
The court backed Zhang's discrimination claim but did not
support a second lawsuit to order the government to find him a
job.
At the same time, the government plans to appeal the
decision.
Zhang sees the verdict as a victory, but experts were unsure
whether the verdict was a victory for China's millions of HBV
carriers who are fighting for equal employment opportunities.
Estimates say there are 100 million HBV carriers in China.
While there are no national laws or regulations against HBV
carriers joining the public service, many local governments and
departments of the central government have issued their own
regulations to bar them.
Still, the number of appeals is growing and some local
governments are beginning to change their views. Some, including Hunan
Province, have allowed its departments to employ HBV carriers
whose infectious ability is so weak that common daily contacts,
such as shaking hands and having dinner together, would pose no
risk.
(China Daily April 3, 2004)