Alarming HIV Increase Among Gay Men in China

The HIV infection rate among gay men in China is climbing at an alarming rate largely due to a lack of awareness about the disease.

The HIV infection rate is nearing 1.5 percent among sexually active homosexual men, Zhang Beichuan, a professor with Qingdao University's Medical School, told an anti-AIDS forum in Yichang, according to China Daily.

"The health authorities have to do something to curb the rising infection rate among gay men, who account for two to four percent of the sexually active adult male population," Zhang said.

China's first, and most recent, official figure on male homosexuality was released in 2004, putting the total of gay men in the country at between five and ten million. The Ministry of Health currently claims China has around 650,000 HIV carriers, which translates into an infection rate of 0.05 percent in the combined male and female population of 1.3 billion.

In his latest study in a northeastern Chinese city, Zhang found that only 20 percent of the 215 gay men he interviewed used condoms and 90 percent of them ruled out any likelihood of having contracted HIV.

And it seems a lack of general education is not to blame. "About half of them were college graduates," Zhang said.

In a survey from China's capital Beijing, only 15 percent of 482 sexually active gay men understood that they were at risk of contracting HIV, according to a 2005 report by the United Nations' UNAIDS.

An earlier report said 80 percent of China's gay men admitted knowing nothing about the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The fact that gay men are often forced into heterosexual marriages worsens the situation, said Prof. Zhang, one of the few experts on homosexuality in China. "More people will be affected if no action is taken quickly."

Homosexuality does remain a taboo subject in many sectors of Chinese society, but the general public is moving towards treating homosexuals as equals and protecting them from HIV/AIDS.

"Regardless of what people think, homosexuality is an inevitable social issue we have to face," said Shi Wei, a health official in Chaoyang District, which has both Beijing's largest white-collar and migrant population.

In 2003, China sent the first group of gay volunteers to cities around China to help promote AIDS awareness among homosexuals.

Now, 20 large and medium-sized cities have a special working team, consisting of gay volunteers and health specialists, which teaches sexually active gay men how to protect themselves.