Paper short abstract:

This presentation delves into how governments, pharmaceutical companies, NGOs, and PLWHA shape the chronicity of HIV/AIDS in Taiwan. Through ethnographic data, the temporal logics of pharma practice, data production, and digital narratives reveal the dynamics in knowledge production of HIV/AIDS.

Paper long abstract:

Since 2013, the UNAIDS "Ending AIDS by 2030" initiative has significantly influenced HIV science discourse. Innovations like rapid testing, 72-hour PEP, daily and event-driven PrEP, quarterly long-lasting injections, and the U=U campaign have underscored the importance of temporal governance of HIV/AIDS. These advances have transformed HIV/AIDS in Taiwan into a chronic condition, fostering optimism for its control and eventual elimination. This presentation considers the chronicity of HIV/AIDS at a time when the pandemic is biomedically manageable yet socially and sexually challenging. Drawing on ethnographic work conducted in Taiwan and interviews with Asian AIDS experts, this presentation unveils the layered chronicity of HIV/AIDS through three interrelated temporal logics. First, Pharmaceutical Time illustrates how global pharmaceutical firms collaborate with the Taiwanese government to secure market share while extending the patent protection of their products. It also examines how pharma practices improve previously strained relationships with NGOs. Second, Data Time considers how local LGBTQ health centers sometimes embellish data (e.g., testing numbers and HIV-positive cases) to meet the government's stringent Key Performance Index requirements. Third, Chemical Time recounts how individuals in chemsex disrupt treatment regime by resisting ART adherence just to assert personal autonomy and control over their pleasure and intimacy. By exploring the tension of these three troubling temporal logics, the presentation demonstrates how scientific communities, LGBTQ activists, governmental bodies, international pharmaceutical companies, and individuals reshape the knowledge and temporal understanding of AIDS. In Taiwan and Asia, the chronicity of HIV/AIDS is being visualized and narrated in unprecedented ways.