BEIJING, March 29 (WSH) — From March 10 to 21, 2025, the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) was held grandly at the UN Headquarters in New York. Zhang Yinjun, founder and chairwoman of the Beijing Changier Education Foundation, led a delegation to attend and delivered speeches at multiple important events, sharing China’s practical experiences in youth health education, gender equality, and women’s empowerment. Her presence showcased the commitment and responsibility of Chinese social organizations in advancing global women’s causes.
Despite a tightly packed schedule, Zhang Yinjun took the time for an interview. Direct and energetic, she began by describing the highlights of the CSW69 session. As an organization with special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council, the Beijing Changier Education Foundation spoke out frequently during the conference, emphasizing the critical role of education in promoting gender equality and sharing the foundation’s work in AIDS prevention, sex education, and maternal love education for youth.
“If we can’t avoid it, we must face it. I had no choice but to step onto the front line of the AIDS battlefield, fighting the virus and trying to save every child I could. It may sound like Don Quixote, but back then I didn’t think much — I just went all in. I resigned without hesitation and committed myself to AIDS prevention and sex health education,” Zhang Yinjun recalled, when asked about her entry into the field of youth sex education and AIDS prevention.
In 1985, China reported its first imported AIDS case from the U.S. In 1990, 146 intravenous drug users were identified as HIV-positive in Yunnan province, marking the first domestic outbreak among local residents. In 1993, the China Association of STD and AIDS Prevention and Control was established, the same year China began cracking down on vice activities, seeking to eradicate the conditions that enabled AIDS to spread.
At the time, Zhang Yinjun was a journalist at a Ministry of Health-affiliated magazine. She participated in an AIDS epidemiological investigation organized by the ministry and personally witnessed the pain of those infected, particularly innocent children who contracted HIV through mother-to-child transmission. As a mother, she was deeply moved. “I felt I had to take action — I had to stand up for the children of the world.”
When Zhang first approached renowned Chinese educator Gu Mingyuan to seek guidance, he was cautious. “It’s extremely difficult to do sex education in China,” he told her, “especially for a young woman. You’ll face gossip and judgment. You must be prepared.” Yet after several meetings, Gu and his wife came to support her. “If you persist,” he said firmly, “we’ll support you. What you’re doing is groundbreaking. It takes courage — and that courage deserves backing. Don’t let me down.”
Determined and efficient, Zhang Yinjun resigned and founded a public welfare organization focused on AIDS prevention and sex health education for youth — the China Youth AIDS Prevention and Education Project (referred to as Changier Project). In 2014, she officially established the Beijing Changier Education Foundation.
What was the biggest challenge at the beginning? How to protect the children? How to keep them away from sources of HIV infection? Zhang believed the only way forward was through sex education. “Our biggest challenge wasn’t money or office space — it was access to young people, who are the most crucial group for AIDS prevention,” she said.
Due to China’s strict education system, it was nearly impossible for a non-governmental organization to enter schools to provide sex education. With Professor Gu’s guidance, Zhang’s team launched a research project through the China Education Association. Their first approved initiative became a national “11th Five-Year Plan” key research project: “Using Film-Based Curriculum to Promote AIDS Prevention and Sexual Health Education.”
Even with official support, they faced repeated rejection. Zhang and her small team made over 600 calls, all met with variations of “Not participating.” The topic was too sensitive — AIDS and sex education were taboo. Some principals bluntly stated, “Even if you pay us, we won’t do it.”
When phone calls failed, they knocked on doors. Eventually, their persistence paid off. At one school, Zhang asked the principal, “What if your child contracted AIDS?” The question gave him pause. He eventually assigned a staff member to begin working with Zhang’s team.
As the Daoist classic *Dao De Jing* says, “One gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, three gives birth to all things.” With one school on board, others followed. More principals began to understand the cause, but many hesitated to be the first to take the risk.
Funding was another issue. Initially, Zhang relied on help from her mother and brother. Then donations began arriving: RMB 250,000 from Yuan An Tang Pharmaceutical in Guangxi; RMB 10 million from entrepreneur Cao Dewang; RMB 20 million from actor Zhao Benshan. Today, their online fundraising campaigns raise nearly RMB 10 million annually, with tens of thousands participating during Tencent’s 99 Philanthropy Day.
From the Sichuan Wenchuan earthquake to the Qinghai Yushu quake, Gansu Zhouqu mudslide, Sichuan Ya’an earthquake, and Yunnan Ludian earthquake, the Changier Project has always been among the first to offer disaster relief and psychological aid.
Over the past decade, the foundation has donated goods and funds worth over RMB 52 million to disaster-hit regions, built 177 “Heart-Link Cabins” (achieving full coverage in Dujiangyan and Mianzhu), trained over 200 school-based counselors, and conducted more than 800 workshops and training sessions, benefitting over 2 million people. They pioneered a sustainable mental health support model involving dedicated school staff and expert volunteers.
Following the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Changier launched the “1+1 Heart-Link Action” 10-year initiative with the Mianzhu Education Bureau, establishing 30+ Heart-Link Cabins. In Chengdu, they trained 100+ university volunteers and regularly brought teachers to Beijing for psychological training. One expert estimated that 600,000 to 1 million people required long-term psychological care after the quake.
Zhang shared touching stories of change:
In Yunnan, a boy nicknamed Xiao Xi, whose parents were both HIV-positive, initially felt ashamed. After attending an HIV-awareness class in a Changier Cabin, he drew a picture explaining that HIV is not transmitted through casual contact. He posted the drawing at the village committee. Gradually, villagers showed respect rather than discrimination.
Another girl had distanced herself from her HIV-positive parents. After learning the facts, she embraced them again, reuniting the family in tears.
One parent said after a Changier lecture, “We were never taught this. I recorded the session and will play it back to help my child understand.”
Looking ahead, Zhang Yinjun expressed the foundation’s new vision: “To protect the healthy growth of 300 million Chinese youths and contribute to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. We will deepen collaboration with government, schools, families, and society to offer comprehensive care.”
After 20 years, the “Changier Cabin” has become a stronghold of compassion. Its essence lies in *love* — the moral foundation of humanity and a noble ideal.
Initially focused on children affected by HIV and drugs, the foundation now also supports left-behind and at-risk youth. Zhang realized that many of them suffer from a lack of maternal love. Thus, she created the *Motherly Love Academy*, a counterpart to Changier Cabins, rooted in her own childhood experience on a communal farm.
The academy aims to educate mothers as the starting point for shaping future generations. Zhang’s ultimate goal is to establish a *University of Human Motherly Love*, open to all humanity. “To educate youth, we must first educate their mothers. If mothers receive proper education, their children will naturally follow. This is the human education principle I uphold. If I can make a breakthrough, I want it to be in this.”
Listening to her words and feeling her passion, one can sense Zhang Yinjun’s deep commitment — twenty years of steadfast service and unwavering responsibility in public welfare.
(by our staff reporter Lin TAO)
