Blood donation
A number of substantive policy developments related to HIV/AIDS occurred during this period. In September 1995, the State Council and Ministry of Health release "Recommendations on Strengthening AIDS Prevention and Control" (关于加强和控制艾滋病工作的意见), developing and reviewing laws and regulations related to HIV/AIDS control and improving enforcement mechanisms. HIV/AIDS work was included in the overall national development strategy of China, and the government signaled openness to the support of non-governmental organizations in combatting the epidemic. Blood donation centers, closed nationwide in 1995 in response to the Plasma Economy scandal, were reopened in 1997–98 with the passage of the Blood Donation Law (中华人民共和国献血法). In 1998, needle exchange programs were implemented in Guangxi, and further expanded in the early 2000s as their efficacy became clear, although some localities and national government departments (such as the Ministry of Public Security) remained opposed to such efforts on the grounds that they encouraged drug use.