Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia - November 24, 2004
University authorities said the distribution of 1,000 condoms at the elite Peking University had not been approved by the college administration in a society where sex before marriage is frowned upon.
"College authorities might think the handout will stir up unnecessary disputes, as the campus is considered pure," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Dr Sun Peiyuan, one of the organizers of the event, as saying.
China was slow to acknowledge the AIDS epidemic and says it has fewer than 1 million cases.
However, experts say at least that number were infected in the central province of Henan alone as a result of a blood-selling scheme.
The United Nations has warned the number of AIDS victims in China could rise to 10 million by 2010 unless it takes serious steps to educate the public and fight the epidemic.
Sun said students with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, had been found at Beijing's universities since 2000.
The head of Peking University's campus hospital said the university supported condom use but that it was inappropriate to hand out free condoms openly on campus.
"We should put more emphasis on guiding college students not to have pre-marriage sex. Condom use only serves as a secondary method for educating those who can't control themselves," Zhou Baohua was quoted as saying.
However, the campus has condom vending machines and a Beijing health official said last month the city would install 1,000 machines throughout the capital to help to fight AIDS.
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