About 50 out-of-town AIDS patients have been petitioning authorities in Beijing in recent days to show their anger at insufficient medical services, poor education and inadequate financial assistance.

Ye Haiyan, a volunteer with non-governmental China Grassroots Women's Rights Center, said most of the patients came from Xincai county, Henan Province.

Tuesday, the patients gathered at the Beijing Aizhixing Institute, an NGO that assists AIDS patients, then visited the offices of the health and education authorities in Beijing.

Yang Zhengnan, who became infected after a blood transfusion in 1995, suffered from cerebral in-farction as a result and struggles to pay medical expenses. "I need to pay for blood transfusions myself. I have paid 4,000 yuan ($600) for that last year."

Another patient, Bian Xiaozhi, also became infected through a blood transfusion. She lost her eyesight seven years ago and later learned that her young daughter was also infected.

Bian said medical expenses concern her the most. She must spend about 300 yuan ($45) for cardiovascular medicine.

"I just hope the government can give us more financial assistance," she said.

Ye said the government will pay for drugs to treat AIDS, but patients may have to foot the bill for related complications such as the flu and liver diseases.

Ye said their petition actions did not go so smoothly Tuesday since police officers inspected the office of Aizhixing institute and checked their identity cards as they spoke with reporters.

The conference room they were using suddenly lost electrical power, Ye said.