CHRISTIAN

“你好. I originate from Hong Kong and I am a first-generation settler immigrant to Turtle Island/Canada. I have lived with HIV since the age of 25.”

Though I did not know what homophobia was, I was bullied for being different both in Hong Kong as a young child and in the U.S. as a teenager. In 2000, my family relocated to Canada and I had to take a break from post-secondary education. That was when I started exploring life as a young gay man and as a newcomer. Although all I ever wanted was love, I found I was often rejected by other gay men, and in turn internalized the sexual racism and xenophobia I faced daily.

As a queer Asian man who wanted to fit in, my wish to connect with other men prevented me from practicing safer sex even though I was educated about safer sex. The summer before I was diagnosed with HIV, I was introduced to crystal meth and what is known as party-and-play (PNP) or chemsex.

After testing HIV+ in January 2003, I fell in a deep depression which kept me house-bound for half a year. I also began to use substances to cope with my HIV status. I felt ashamed about my status and did not access services regularly. My substance use intensified to injection drug use in subsequent years. As I completed a substance treatment program at CAMH’s Rainbow Services in 2010, I also learned I tested positive for Hepatitis C.

I thought my life had ended when I was first diagnosed, and there was no hope or future for me. Today, I look at testing HIV+ and living with HIV as experiences that have made me stronger and enabled me to become who I am.

I later returned to school as I wished to use my lived experiences as a person living with HIV/HCV and substance use to assist others. I started volunteering at Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) and engaged with the Committee for Accessible AIDS Treatment and the Ontario AIDS Network. In 2011, I started to work at ACAS, a place where I have spent my past decade and what I consider as my second home. During this time, I also completed a social services worker diploma from George Brown College, and later on a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Social Work from Ryerson University.

I found ACAS as a place where I am accepted for being who I am: a first-generation Asian immigrant living with HIV, a person who used/injected drugs, and a mental health consumer.

To end HIV, we must eliminate HIV stigma. Besides expanding testing, treatment, and care, we must continue to invest in research and programming that support people living with HIV and priority population groups most affected by HIV. We also need to know that the key to end HIV is by achieving health equity.

I want everyone to know that if you test HIV+ today, you can live a healthy, normal life as long as you get on and adhere to HIV treatment. With #UequalsU, we now know a person living with HIV who is on effective treatment cannot pass on HIV sexually to others. If you are someone who uses drugs, there are ways to use in a safer manner that can reduce harm."

Christian is a registered social worker and the Knowledge Exchange and Network Engagement Lead at the Ontario Harm Reduction Network (OHRN). He currently serves on the international steering committee of the global Undetectable=Untransmittable (U=U) Campaign, is a community representative on the Champions Team of the Toronto to Zero Fast Track City Initiative, and is a community researcher at the Canadian HIV Observational Cohort (CANOC) Research Collaborative. 

Over the past decade, Christian worked and supported racialized newcomers and refugees living with HIV and members of 2SLGBTIQ+ communities in the Greater Toronto Area. As an HIV activist and community mobilizer, he co-founded two people living with HIV (PLHIV) networks: the Canadian Positive People Network (CPPN) and Ontario Positive Asians (OPA+). Christian is a health equity advocate and harm reductionist who has helped draft the Paris Community Declaration for the greater and meaningful involvement of Key Affected Populations in the global HIV response. 

In 2016, Christian was chosen by the Canadian Government to serve as a civil society representative on the Canadian Delegation to the United Nations High Level Meeting on Ending AIDS. He was awarded the Ontario AIDS Network (OAN) Person Living with HIV/AIDS (PHA) Award in 2017 and the Poz-TO Award in 2018.