Pu Cunxin, AIDS' leading man ( 2003-12-02 10:08) (China Daily HK Edition)
He's a household name throughout the country for his outstanding performances
as various characters on stage and screen. But in real life he has been cast in
the larger-than-life role of goodwill ambassador in China's campaign against
HIV/AIDS. The number of HIV carriers in the nation has topped 1.04 million,
including 20,000 deaths, while the number of AIDS patients has reached 80,000.
The star of "Shower", an avant-garde film that won him fame as "the sexiest
and most responsible man" among Chinese audiences in general and middle-aged
women in particular, Pu Cunxin considers the ambassador job a great honour. "I
can actually use my fame to do something worthwhile for society by confronting
the AIDS scourge," he says.
The first person ever to play such a role in China's public health history,
Pu was appointed to the post by the Ministry of Health in 2000 to increase
public awareness about the lethal epidemic.
"We singled him out because of his trustworthy image, his reputation of
sincerity and, more importantly, his sense of responsibility," says Li Ying,
former director of the ministry's Health Education Department. "At first, we
weren't sure if he would take the job," Li recalls.
But Pu did so happily. "This is your country asking you to do something for
her. I have no right to say 'no', no right not to do it well," asserts the
50-year-old Pu.
Now well-informed about the deadly chronic disease, Pu admits that he, like
many others, used to "connect the victims of AIDS to a 'filthy' lifestyle". He
says he had only a vague idea what HIV/AIDS even was three years ago when he
first entered Beijing You'an Hospital, one of the earliest medical service
providers in China to treat AIDS sufferers, to learn more about the disease.
At the time, even science paled before people's fears or ignorance concerning
HIV/AIDS. The Ministry of Health asked Pu to hold hands with an AIDS patient in
the hospital for a television commercial entitled "We Care, Do You?" to educate
the public about what men, specifically, can do in the war against the epidemic.
Some medical workers worried that the request was asking too much of the
actor. But Pu did not shun the patients. "I believe science, which tells us you
can only contract AIDS in three ways - through blood, via transfusions or
sharing infected needles, unprotected sex and from mother-to-children," he says.
In the AIDS ward, Pu did not hesitate to shake hands with Wang Hu (not his
real name), a young man living with AIDS. After giving him a hug, Pu encouraged
him to cope with his physical condition as best he could. "He even invited the
young man to his performance in a stage drama. He treated the patient like his
little brother," recalls Li Ying.
Disarmed by Pu's charisma, Wang Hu agreed to work with
the famous actor. The country's first AIDS-informative commercial was so
compelling that many TV networks in the country are still running it.
Sadly, AIDS claimed the young man's life shortly after the commercial was
shot. He never did get to see Pu perform on stage. Pu wrote a mourning message
lamenting the loss of the young life and presented bouquets of flowers at Wang's
funeral.
The medical community especially appreciate the star's new social identity.
"He is a real man, not pretentious. I don't think I could ever be as devoted and
compassionate as he is with the infected people, even though I myself am a
medical professional," says Zhong Li of the Sichuan Centre of Disease Control
and Prevention.
In a society in which many people regard HIV/AIDS as a "dirty disease" and
treat the victims as untouchables, Pu has worked hard over the past three years
to convince people to be more tolerant towards HIV/AIDS patients and to show
greater support for the AIDS-control campaign.
"It has virtually everything to do with everybody in terms of the nation's
future. AIDS will cause both economic and social losses if we, the citizens,
refuse to take steps to curb the epidemic now," he warns.
Ambassador Pu is well aware of the grim situation regarding the spread of
HIV/AIDS: since the first AIDS case was reported in China in 1985, the number of
AIDS sufferers in the country has grown at an annual rate of 30 per cent, giving
it the second highest rate of infection of all Asian countries.
In fact, AIDS has already ravaged many rural families in the infected areas
of China. With his strong sense of mission, Pu Cunxin has set up a personal fund
to help kids from affected families who face financial difficulties in going to
school. So far, with his sponsorship, Pu is supporting 29 kids from impoverished
families to continue their educations.
"I will help them through college or high school at least. I myself didn't
get much education. Therefore, I don't want to see our children quitting school
simply because they don't have money," he says.
In the meantime, Pu collaborated with CCTV to make a short documentary of a
day he spent with an AIDS patient and the man's family in Shaanxi making and
eating dumplings together. The intention, Pu says, "is to show the public that
normal social contact won't give you AIDS. But ignorance will."
In addition, he travelled across the country to spread knowledge about AIDS.
Aside from campaigns arranged by the Ministry of Health, Pu has conducted his
own campaigns against HIV/AIDS on film shoots or while performing on tour.
"Whenever I stay in a place for a week or longer, I approach the local health
authorities and TV network, asking them to make arrangements for me to give a
talk on AIDS prevention," he says.
He firmly believes education is the most effective way to eradicate people's
ignorance about AIDS and, thus, dispel their fear of the disease. He notices the
need for such education, saying "Many people still think that only certain
lifestyle habits lead to AIDS."
According to figures released by the State Family Planning Commission in
July, 71 per cent of 7,053 people surveyed admitted they knew the epidemic was
contagious but had little idea about how it was transmitted.
While shooting China's first AIDS-focused TV drama, "Lost Paradise", in which
Pu Cunxin played the protagonist who contracts AIDS from a blood transfusion,
director Yu Genggeng recalls that taxi drivers forced them out of their cabs and
restaurant owners kicked them out after learning their show was about AIDS.
Such ignorance, Pu notes, is far more harmful and threatening than the virus
itself and highlights the urgent need for greater public education.
The theme of World AIDS Day 2003, observed yesterday, was Stigma and
Discrimination. Pu says discrimination against people with HIV and AIDS is still
pervasive in China.
"Surely, such discrimination is immoral. No one has the right to marginalize
an AIDS patient or treat him or her as an outcast who doesn't affect your life,"
exclaims Pu. "In a way, getting AIDS is no different from contracting any other
contagious disease, such as hepatitis-B," he adds.
Discrimination will not protect society, and it could even foster a hatred
amongst people with AIDS for society, Pu says.
World AIDS Day, established in 1988, is more than just a special day to raise
money, explains Pu. "It reminds us that AIDS could affect you and your family if
you remain ignorant and indifferent about the disease and the ways to avoid it."
Experts estimate that the number of HIV carriers in China will climb to 10
million by 2010 if sufficient steps are not taken to check the spread of the
disease.
Pu says his role as ambassador is not that of a white-winged angel flying
here and there to save people from crucifixion. "I'm just trying my best to do
something substantial for the country's AIDS-control mission, which I believe
will benefit many generations to come."
The star of "Shower", an avant-garde film that won him fame as "the sexiest
and most responsible man" among Chinese audiences in general and middle-aged
women in particular, Pu Cunxin considers the ambassador job a great honour. "I
can actually use my fame to do something worthwhile for society by confronting
the AIDS scourge," he says.
