98 Gay Men Arrested

[gintaiwan]

Yes, but one has to face reality. Obviously those guys at the party felt no obligation to tell the others about their status either, so my friend's sentiments are obviously not unique. Also, he does tell the people he's dating about his status, and he's never been turned down after doing so, which is another excuse/reason for him not to tell a ons. He also found out that a ons had hiv for years, and didn't tell him about his status either. strange people here

[LittleBuddhaTW]

Yes, but one has to face reality. Obviously those guys at the party felt no obligation to tell the others about their status either, so my friend's sentiments are obviously not unique. Also, he does tell the people he's dating about his status, and he's never been turned down after doing so, which is another excuse/reason for him not to tell a ons. He also found out that a ons had HIV for years, and didn't tell him about his status either. strange people here

Hence the reason to always use a condom unless you're in a monogamous relationship (and can REALLY trust your partner) and have both been tested twice, the second being 6 months after the original test.

I most certainly think that it should be a serious criminal offense for someone who knowingly has HIV to have unprotected sex with someone without informing them first, not to mention the ethics and morality of it all.

BTW, Gin, I hope you gave your friend(s) a good bitching out for their behavior.

[Novaspes]

It's so NOT the same in the US - I imagine Flicka is talking about the availability of and access to information HIV and other STDs - they just don't have it here. In ANY American bar there are free condoms and lube and leaflets and phone numbers of support groups etc etc pinned up everywhere. There's medical help in the US - sure, there's still a stigma but there are support networks and trained personnel - in Taiwan, nurses refuse to treat people with HIV - it's not just ignorance on the part of the gay guys - it's pretty universal. A Taiwanese friend of mine died of HIV-related illness last year, and he was so ashamed he didn't even tell his gay friends, just disappeared off to die. We heard about all the SHIT he'd had to deal with from so-called "medical professionals" in Taiwan from his sister after he had died. This country is a fucking disgrace when it comes to people with HIV and AIDS. And does anyone remember the SARS nurses who refused to treat patients?

Flicka's putting down Taiwan rightly in this respect. What a ridiculous thing to come to Taiwan's defence for - they have better safe-sex resources in Thailand, for fuck's sake! The local boys ARE ignorant of the dangers of HIV - people REALLY do say "it's a foreigner's disease" and it's something that western guys here have had to deal with for years. Me and people I know have been writing articles about it for YEARS in the Asian gay media, like Taiwan's HIS magazine and Singapore's fridae.com and stupid remarks like "why put Taiwan down?" REALLY get my goat. This isn't about low self-esteem or higher rates of STD, it's about fighting ignorance due to the COMPLETE lack of adequate sex information in Taiwan - in the States you've got to be an IDIOT to have unprotected sex; in Taiwan they really ARE ignorant of the facts.

And Chou, get over yourself with your "bisexual shit" remark - go tell it to the straight Taiwanese guys who are fucking whores in the rest of South East Asia and coming back to their wives and families - it's not just a gay problem. Why don't YOU make sure you wear a condom every time you have sex with a woman (like the rest of us educated people do when we have sex with a man). Take responsibility for YOURSELF.

Maoman, yes it is shocking that some of the guys knew about their HIV status - they ARE attempted murderers, but cf my remark about straight local guys. If you don't know your status or don't care to wear a condom with a whore in Bangkok, what's the difference? EVERYONE'S ignorant about HIV and AIDS here, it just happened to be gay party that was raided and so it's been highlighted. And drug use is immaterial here; unless you've never ran a red light or done anything "illegal".