China Holds First Gay HIV Clinic

Free HIV/AIDS tests attracted more than 200 gay men to a Beijing hospital on the weekend in what is being called a first for China's capital city.

The clinic was organized by Chaoyang - the Chinese AIDS Volunteer Group - a non governmental group, the Xinhua news agency reported Monday.

Most of the men who turned up were in their 30's, although there were some older men and college students.
Each was given a number and a password to the Chaoyang Web site so they could easily retrieve their test results.

In addition safe-sex booklets were distributed and psychologists were on hand for anyone needing help.

The clinic was promoted on an Internet sight for gays for several weeks.

Organizers said they were encouraged by the turnout. They also said that they plan to distribute 50,000 "rainbow cards" in gay clubs, entitling the holders to four boxes of condoms each month.

In 2004, China put the total of gay men in the country at between five and ten million - a number western activists call "extreme low". Some Western AIDS groups estimate the number closer to 48 million.

That the clinic was held at all is seen as part of a new awakening to the reality of men-having-sex-with men in China.

Last year the government began a "clean-up" of gay Web sites - including sites that provided HIV/AIDS information. The so-called clean-up was later reportedly abandoned.

The Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS, or UNAIDS, has warned that up to 10 million people in China could be infected by 2010 without more aggressive prevention measures.

A report issued in March by China's Ministry of Health showed that only about 30 percent of the country's college students have a full understanding of HIV/AIDS.