I rounded off my visit to China with a bit of a coup – meeting a Chinese national celebrity. No, not Jackie Chan. Although, incidentally, the kung fu king is currently starring in HIV awareness commercials here. Someone I’d never heard of before last night due to my embryonic knowledge of Chinese history but a living, breathing embodiment of the country’s tumultuous past.
Dr Xuan Ke, a musician and outspoken critic of the Chinese government, from Yunnan province where the British Red Cross is supporting a new HIV programme. Now almost 80 years old, he was imprisoned twice under the Communist regime – the second time for a gruelling 21 years. A member of the ancient Naxi ethnic minority who live in this remote mountainous region, Dr Ke is credited with reviving its unique music as director of the Naxi orchestra in Li Jiang city.
We met him at the nightly concert that attracts music enthusiasts and tourists from around the world, who also attend to hear his irreverent musings on everything from rock music to Chinese politics.
To our delight, Dr Ke is also honorary vice-president of Li Jiang’s Red Cross branch and gave our delegation a warm welcome at the event.
Afterwards, I had the privilege of chatting to him about his experiences and, of course, his involvement with the Red Cross. He began his long stint in jail in 1957 during the Cultural Revolution due to his love of Western classical music, and literally had the scars to prove it – on his wrists from being chained up. When he was finally released in 1978, he returned to Li Jiang as a mathematics teacher and joined the local Red Cross.
“I joined the Red Cross because it is about people doing good deeds for other people,” he said. “We cannot depend on only government or the United Nations to work for humanity. As a society we need strong humanitarian organisations such as the Red Cross.”
He thanked the British Red Cross for its interest in Yunnan province and funding for its HIV work. However, his biggest passion is the rich musical legacy of the ancient Naxi people, which he fears could become extinct from a dwindling interest among young people. Certainly, octogenarians dominate his orchestra, but they are comparatively youthful as the healthy mountain air preserves many local residents to well over a century.
What would be an even bigger tragedy is HIV becoming an epidemic in this region as it threatens to do, Yunnan having the highest prevalence rate in the country. Work to raise awareness of HIV has only just begun and it needs people as fearless as Xuan Ke to shout about it. |
