Hu An (not his real name ) saw his world collapsing when told he had been infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Hu had only vague knowledge about this infection that weakens the body"s immune system, as something widely prevalent in Africa and some Western countries, and hardly expected it to hit home so close.
　　“I should have tried to know more about the disease earlier,” sighed Hu An.
　　The 31-year-old was born into a farmer’s family in central Hubei Province. After graduating from a vocational school, he joined the sales and marketing group of a telecom company in Hubei’s capital city of Wuhan, drawing a more-than-modest monthly salary in the city of 3,000 yuan. Shortly after getting a job, he got married and the couple soon had a daughter. Hu An was seen as a capable and lucky young man by his townspeople.
　　Hu caught a terrible cold last June that he could not seem to shake off for months, accompanied by cough and rapid weight loss. On a Sunday in August, Hu An happened to see a poster on AIDS in a park, and this reminded him of his own symptoms.
　　The scared young man went to a local hospital for an HIV test under a fake name. Fifteen days later, the doctor gave him the terrible news-Hu was HIV positive.
　　The next evening, a dejected Hu An walked to the banks of the Yangtze River, which runs through the city, to end his life. But thoughts of his aged parents stopped him in his tracks. Suddenly, Hu An realized with growing fear that his wife and daughter, who lived in the countryside with his parents, may also be infected. He immediately called his wife and asked the two of them to come down to Wuhan for a test.
　　To his great relief, they both tested negative. Hu An advised his wife to divorce him and get remarried. However, she refused, saying she would stick to him to the very end.
　　Under her questioning, Hu An revealed his long-kept secret. He is gay and first had unprotected sex with a man in 2003. Since the couple lived apart, Hu had indulged in a series of one-night stands with many strangers. While he is unable to pinpoint which encounter may have led to the HIV infection, he suspects a business trip.
　　Hu An soon developed full-blown AIDS and was hospitalized for free under an arrangement with the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
　　A week after taking the free medication, Hu An developed a serious drug reaction, prompting him to contemplate suicide once again. In a last-ditch attempt, he then warded at the Beijing Ditan Hospital, one of China’s leading HIV/AIDS research and treatment institutions, where he received warm-hearted treatment from the doctors and volunteers.
　　One of the volunteers Cao Zhijun, once invited Hu to dinner. As they sat opposite each other, Cao found Hu talking with his mouth covered for fear of transmitting the virus. Cao put Hu’s hands away, a small gesture that Hu remembers with gratitude.
　　Repeated blows
　　Hu An returned to his hometown in November 2005 and took to providing taxi services in a nearby town, after purchasing a car on loan. He decided to spend the rest of his life close to his loved ones.
　　In January of 2006, Hu An became friendly with someone online and told him his story. The man sympathized with him and expressed a desire to help him. Hu trusted his intentions and invited him to be his partner in the taxi business.
　　“It is a luxury to have a friend to talk to for a person in despair,” explained Hu An.
　　However, after meeting this “friend” in real life and partnering with him, Hu found him to be a gambler and liar.
　　When Hu told his “friend” that he did not want to continue the partnership, he beat Hu and threatened to spread words about his disease. Afraid of letting others know about his condition, Hu An succumbed to the blackmail and handed over all his savings.
　　However, many of Hu’s friends came to know of his disease anyway, leaving him with no choice but to leave his hometown.
　　
　　Hu An arrived in Beijing this September, hoping to find a new life.
　　
　　He landed a job in a company and lived in the company’s dorms with his colleagues. He managed to keep his disease from his friends by changing the name tags on his AIDS medication. However, one day, when Hu was reading a book on AIDS treatment, one of his colleagues playfully snatched it away from him. Hu An was forced to come out with the truth. Soon after, the company manager, who had praised Hu An many times before as a model worker, fired him.
　　To save money, Hu An now rents a basement for 400 yuan a month and cooks his own food. Since he cannot afford nutritional supplements, he drinks honey and eats more meat to strengthen his immune system. He also exercises regularly. “I have the desire to exercise, something unthinkable for me in the past,” Hu said.
　　His biggest worry now is to find a job quickly. Every day, he attends free courses on AIDS and works as a volunteer.
　　“I am in good physical condition and able to work. A job will also lift me from despair.’’
　　Now Hu An confines his friends’ circle to HIV positive people. “Discrimination against infected people poses a grave danger in society,” said Hu.
　　All he wants, he said, was a job as a driver, a normal life, medical treatment and the ability to take care of his parents and family.
　　

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