TIMOTHY HILDEBRANDT more convincing explanation notes the early presence of international donors and NGOs working on the emerging HIV/AIDS epidemic in the late 1990s.These actors brought knowledge and funding,which were instrumental in creating a government and general population more willing to acknowledge the crisis and those affected by it.50 HIV/AIDS has given LGBT organizations more than just a political opportunity.It has also provided important economic resources.As the survey data show,many activists rely heavily on outside funds.One donor representative contends that gay men's groups are 'almost incapable'of raising funds other than those directed towards HIV/AIDS work.51 The dominance of HIV/AIDS funding in the development of gay groups is so significant that one donor representative claims to have seen no gay group that does not do some degree of HIV/AIDS prevention work.32 To demonstrate the importance of HIV/AIDS funds in group creation,one need only look at a key constituency of the LGBT community:because lesbian women are not identified as a high-risk group for HIV/AIDS,few funds are available and growth of lesbian organizations has been stunted:liberal estimates suggest that China has 14 lesbian organizations.53 But it is less the amount of money than how organizations receive it that most effects relations with transnational and domestic actors.In order to ensure freer movement and full cooperation with governments across China,HIV/AIDS funding schemes usually employ a 'filter model'whereby funds brought into the country are directed first through the government.Government agents,usually the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),then pass funds to community-based organizations. This distribution mechanism can be traced to 2001,with the UK international development agency's first HIV/AIDS project in China;it has been adopted by private donors such as the Gates Foundation and the largest single source of international funding to HIV/AIDS groups,the Global Fund.As in the original iteration of the model,Global Fund monies are given to a 'primary recipient',the Chinese government.The government's chief agent,the CDC,transfers funds to social organizations ('sub-recipients').For groups not legally registered (82%of LGBT NGO survey respondents)funds are held by another 'sub-recipient',a local agency or government-organized NGO(GONGO),then given to organizations('sub- sub-recipients'in Global Fund parlance).Many activists believe government participation has been motivated less by concerns for disease prevention and more by the economic opportunities presented to local officials by the filter model.Moreover, the model allows the government to decide who receives financial support,thus 50.Officials elsewhere share this enthusiasm for enlisting the help of domestic NGOs to prevent HIV/AIDS.The govemor of Gansu,for example,declared his province's intention to'catalyze the birth of NGOs'to address the issue (Xinhua.13 April 2007). 51.Interview,Hong Kong.15 October 2007. 52.Interview.Kunming,30 July 2007. 53.The case of Hong Kong demonstrates the importance of HIV/AIDS funding in the development of LGBT activism.During the early 1990s,gay Hong Kong activists resisted working on HIV/AIDS despite its impact on their community.Concerned with being stigmatized as a diseased population,activists collaborated with officials to emphasize the generalized nature of the epidemic and downplay the 'gayness'of it.By the time the gay community concentrated on HIV/AIDS in 1998,they were unable to take full advantage of related economic opportunities and create a strong network of gay groups.By that point,interests of foreign donors had moved northward to mainland China and the HIV/AIDS crisis that was just beginning to boil (Interview,Kunming,30 July 2007). 854more convincing explanation notes the early presence of international donors and NGOs working on the emerging HIV/AIDS epidemic in the late 1990s. These actors brought knowledge and funding, which were instrumental in creating a government and general population more willing to acknowledge the crisis and those affected by it.50 HIV/AIDS has given LGBT organizations more than just a political opportunity. It has also provided important economic resources. As the survey data show, many activists rely heavily on outside funds. One donor representative contends that gay men’s groups are ‘almost incapable’ of raising funds other than those directed towards HIV/AIDS work.51 The dominance of HIV/AIDS funding in the development of gay groups is so significant that one donor representative claims to have seen no gay group that does not do some degree of HIV/AIDS prevention work.52 To demonstrate the importance of HIV/AIDS funds in group creation, one need only look at a key constituency of the LGBT community: because lesbian women are not identified as a high-risk group for HIV/AIDS, few funds are available and growth of lesbian organizations has been stunted: liberal estimates suggest that China has 14 lesbian organizations.53 But it is less the amount of money than how organizations receive it that most effects relations with transnational and domestic actors. In order to ensure freer movement and full cooperation with governments across China, HIV/AIDS funding schemes usually employ a ‘filter model’ whereby funds brought into the country are directed first through the government. Government agents, usually the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), then pass funds to community-based organizations. This distribution mechanism can be traced to 2001, with the UK international development agency’s first HIV/AIDS project in China; it has been adopted by private donors such as the Gates Foundation and the largest single source of international funding to HIV/AIDS groups, the Global Fund. As in the original iteration of the model, Global Fund monies are given to a ‘primary recipient’, the Chinese government. The government’s chief agent, the CDC, transfers funds to social organizations (‘sub-recipients’). For groups not legally registered (82% of LGBT NGO survey respondents) funds are held by another ‘sub-recipient’, a local agency or government-organized NGO (GONGO), then given to organizations (‘sub￾sub-recipients’ in Global Fund parlance). Many activists believe government participation has been motivated less by concerns for disease prevention and more by the economic opportunities presented to local officials by the filter model. Moreover, the model allows the government to decide who receives financial support, thus 50. Officials elsewhere share this enthusiasm for enlisting the help of domestic NGOs to prevent HIV/AIDS. The governor of Gansu, for example, declared his province’s intention to ‘catalyze the birth of NGOs’ to address the issue (Xinhua, 13 April 2007). 51. Interview, Hong Kong, 15 October 2007. 52. Interview, Kunming, 30 July 2007. 53. The case of Hong Kong demonstrates the importance of HIV/AIDS funding in the development of LGBT activism. During the early 1990s, gay Hong Kong activists resisted working on HIV/AIDS despite its impact on their community. Concerned with being stigmatized as a diseased population, activists collaborated with officials to emphasize the generalized nature of the epidemic and downplay the ‘gayness’ of it. By the time the gay community concentrated on HIV/AIDS in 1998, they were unable to take full advantage of related economic opportunities and create a strong network of gay groups. By that point, interests of foreign donors had moved northward to mainland China and the HIV/AIDS crisis that was just beginning to boil (Interview, Kunming, 30 July 2007). TIMOTHY HILDEBRANDT 854