For Chinese with HIV, Unheeded Cries for Hugs

A young woman stood silently but wore a powerful message: Her white T-shirt read, "I’m living with HIV. Please give me a hug."

The woman surnamed You was one of more than 20 people infected with HIV participating in a living exhibit during the recent opening of a contemporary art show in Beijing.

No one hugged any of them, underscoring the show’s distressingly powerful title Absolute Distance and its intent: To explore the relationship between people and AIDS.