On the evening of Dec. 1, 2016, the 29th World AIDS Day, a charity musical banquet has been held in Shanghai Tower, initiated by China Red Ribbon Foundation and the fund for caring AIDS patients of Shanghai Charity Foundation, the latter organization launched by Christians.
Bian Bingbin, the party planner and sponsor of the fund, claims that he chose the place, the tallest skyscraper in China, because the voice of the AIDS prevention and anti-AIDS work and care the AIDS patients should never be absent in the Chinese tallest building.
Several guests and foreign friends have been invited to attend the party, including the representatives of the United Nation Joint Programme on AIDS and the World Health Organization, consular officers of the United, Germany and the South Africa as well as a delegate of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.
Xu Rongmao, executive director of China Red Ribbon Foundation and associate director of the CPPCC Subcommittee of Economy, states that entrepreneurs should benefit society and all segments of society should promote the AIDS prevention and the Healthy China Initiative.
Zhou Kai, social mobilization and cooperation consultant of the United Nations Joint Programme on AIDS, says that the theme of the promotion campaign for the AIDS Day is "to prevent AIDS jointly and stress on prevention". Despite the remarkable progress China has achieved on the prevention, we should pay attention to the latest trends, for example, there is a significant increase in students infection. The number of infected teenagers, the majority of whom are affected through sexual transmission, especially among gays, has grown by 35% in the latest five years. The prevention on high-risk people should depend on the government and the social forces.
Some artists including Zhu Jiuyang, a Christian painter, and a blind artist attended the ceremony.
Bian Bingbin, who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer five years ago, thanks for the support of the guests and around one hundred unknown volunteers, saying that he sees love and hope of life through each of them. He shares that their support and help show him that the world is actually changed by love.
One of the highlights in the banquet lies in the performance part. A video records that many normal volunteers have stuck to engage in the campaign out of love since the foundation of the fund and another video from China Red Ribbon Foundation presents the stories of the children born with AIDS, living in the remote areas. Meanwhile, many Christian volunteers sing hymns including Abide With Me, Fast Falls the Eventide.
The famous drama actor Jiang Xueliang and the artist Nan Gezi read the poem "Love and Life Never Fail" that is based on the Proverbs of Love by the Nobel Prize-winner Mother Teresa when the banquet is at its peak.
Translated By: Karen Luo
