New film about HBV patients strikes a chord

The Best Is Yet to Come, a film starring people infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV), has drawn praise from the patient community on social media.

The film, which was backed by biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, tells the story about an intern reporter who investigates the discrimination against HBV patients.

Cheng Zhuo, the head of a HBV patient community and one of the actors in the show, said The Best Is Yet to Come was adapted from a true story in which the topic of discrimination against HBV patients gained much social attention following media reports in 2003.

Due to this incident, several government departments in 2010 released documents stating that HBV tests were no longer required during physical examinations for school enrollment and employment, and improvements to the rights of those with the disease were also improved, said Cheng.

"I appreciate the film for reproducing that period in such a realistic manner," wrote a former HBV patient who goes by the online moniker Shang Mantian.

Another former HBV patient who goes by the online moniker Xiao Yu, shared with netizens that her classmates and neighbors used to shun her because of the virus. Several hospitals in Beijing had also refused to perform antenatal checkups for her in 2010.

"I didn't know that it was journalists who helped bring about policy changes until I watched the movie. I really want to thank them," she wrote.