HUMAN RIGHTS: GAO YAOJIE BLOCKED FROM TRAVELING TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 000860 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR DRL, EAP/CM E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/05/2032 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL CH SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS: GAO YAOJIE BLOCKED FROM TRAVELING TO BEIJING Classified By: Political Section Acting Internal Unit Chief Daniel J. K ritenbrink. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (C) Local authorities have blocked Dr. Gao Yaojie, a well-know AIDS advocate from Henan province, from traveling to Beijing February 5 to complete visa processing for an upcoming trip to the United States, post has confirmed. Police continue toprevent Gao from leaing her home, Guo Tufei protect),Gao's son, told us by phone February5. Gao is scheduled to receive an award for romoting gender equality in China at the Vital Voices Annual Leadership Awards and Beneft in Washington, D.C. March 14. The DCM expressed deep concern about the case to MFA Department of North America and Oceania Affairs Director General Liu Jieyi February 5. In addition, Poloff raised the issue the same day with MFA International Organizations Department Human Rights officer Xu Jing and MFA North American and Oceania Affairs officer Ran Bo, underlining that the issue is certain to attract foreign media and high-level United States Government attention and urging China to take steps to allow Gao to travel freely. The Chinese officials had no immediate information and promised to look into the matter. ¶2. (C) Gao is one of four women set to receive awards for promoting gender equality in China from the Vital Voices Global Partnership, a Washington-based non- governmental organization. The others are Guo Jianmei, Director of the Beijing University Women's Law Center; Xie Lihua, Secretary-General of the Cultural Development Center for Rural Women; and Wang Xingjuan of the Maple Women Center. None has reported any official harassment in connection with their upcoming participation in the program. Wenchi Yu Perkins (protect),a representative of Vital Voices, told Poloff that she met with Deputy Chief of Mission Zheng Zeguang of the Chinese Embassy in Washington to discuss the awards prior to inviting the honorees in fall of 2006. Perkins said Zheng told her the Chinese Government had no problem with any of the four. (Note: Vital Voices' honorary co-chairs are Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Kay Bailey Hutchison and the Chair of the Board of Directors is Melanne Verveer. End note.) ¶3. (C) A retired gynecologist, Gao was instrumental in helping to expose the spread of AIDS due to sales of tainted blood supplies in Henan province in the early 2000s. She has been a vocal advocate for bolstering care for AIDS orphans in China. Gao's son Guo and several of the doctor's other associates have told us that Gao is healthy, that beyond the restriction on her movement she has not been mistreated, and that she currently has enough food and supplies in her home. RANDT