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       Dr. Gao Yaojie, Who Exposed AIDS Epidemic in Rural China, Dies at 95

       Despite government efforts to silence her, she drew global attention to an epidemic that devastated rural China and killed tens of thousands.

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       Dr. Gao Yaojie talked with students during an AIDS lecture tour in Shanghai in 2006. Credit...Mark Ralston/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

       By Chris Buckley

       Dec. 10, 2023

       阅读简体中文版 阅读繁体中文版

       Gao Yaojie, a Chinese doctor who defied government pressure in exposing an AIDS epidemic that spread across rural China through reckless blood collection, died on Sunday at her home in Upper Manhattan. She was 95.

       Her death was confirmed by Prof. Andrew J. Nathan, a scholar of Chinese politics at Columbia University who managed her affairs in the United States.

       Dr. Gao’s relentless efforts to expose and halt the epidemic of AIDS among poor farmers in the late 1990s brought her fame in China and acclaim abroad; among others, she was hailed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the Obama administration. But Communist Party officials ultimately tried to silence Dr. Gao, and she spent her last decade in New York.

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       A correction was made on Dec. 10, 2023

       : Because of an editing error, a previous version of this obituary misstated the given name of a Columbia University professor who confirmed Dr. Gao’s death. He is Andrew J. Nathan, not Arnold.

       When we learn of a mistake, we acknowledge it with a correction. If you spot an error, please let us know at nytnews@nytimes.com.Learn more

       Chris Buckley, the chief China correspondent for The Times, reports on China and Taiwan from Taipei, focused on politics, social change and security and military issues. More about Chris Buckley

       A version of this article appears in print on Dec. 11, 2023, Section B, Page 7 of the New York edition with the headline: Dr. Gao Yaojie, 95, Who Exposed AIDS Epidemic in Rural China, Dies . Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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