Heads scratched over AIDS book
28/12/2006 9:41
Internet users have expressed doubts about a textbook specially designed
for anti-AIDS education in primary and middle schools.
The textbook, the
first of its kind in the country, will go into use in Beijing in September. It
aims to teach students about the prevention of AIDS and introduces the theory of
ABC - standing for Abstinence, Be faithful, and correct and consistent Condom
use.
It advocates abstinence from sex till marriage and the use of
condoms, and denounces cyber love, smoking and drinking.
It also calls
for the eradication of discrimination against people with HIV and
AIDS.
Some Internet users have questioned the textbook's support for
abstinence till marriage, and its disapproval of cyber love, smoking and
drinking.
"According to the textbook, a person should not have sex before
marriage, so why does he need condoms," said a posting on Netease.com, one of
China's largest portals.
Another posting said, "If a man never gets
married, does the textbook suggest he can never have sex his whole life long?
That's a bit against human rights, isn't it?"
A Netizen called
"Zealot1984" said he sees no direct link between AIDS and cyber love, smoking
and drinking. "Wouldn't it be more reasonable for the textbook to outlaw drug
use rather than cigarettes and alcohol? And why would one think cyber love can
lead to AIDS? I met my girlfriend on the Internet. We are fine," he
said.
Supporters of the textbook - who were in the minority - emphasized
that the education was designed for teenagers, who were more vulnerable and more
likely to be taken advantage of in cyber love and in other activities that the
textbook warns about.
The Ministry of Health said 183,733 people had
officially contracted HIV in China by the end of October, 28 percent up on the
end of last year. Experts warn that the epidemic is spreading from high-risk
groups to the general public.
China's Ministry of Education started an
anti-AIDS campaign last year, demanding all middle schools include anti-AIDS
education as part of the curriculum.
According to a survey conducted by
Huo Jinzhi, a professor from the medical school of Sochow University in Jiangsu
Province, 4.6 percent of junior middle school students in China have had some
kind of sexual experience, while the number is 4.2 percent in senior middle
schools.
Xinhua news
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