China condom handout halted

By Louisa Lim
BBC correspondent in Beijing

A recent Chinese survey found 40% couldn't name one way to stop Aids

An Aids prevention campaign distributing free condoms on Chinese campuses has been halted by authorities at Beijing's top two universities.

Administrators at Peking University and Tsinghua University said the campaign was unacceptable.

It is a sign of how Aids prevention work on the mainland is being hampered by bureaucracy and traditional taboos.

Some one million people are infected by HIV, the virus which can lead to Aids, in China.

China has planned a flurry of activities for next week's World Aids Day, hoping to give a higher profile to attempts to combat the disease.

Organisers were trying to give out free condoms to students at the capital's top two universities when they were stopped by school authorities.

The Xinhua news agency quoted one school official as saying more emphasis should be placed on guiding students not to have premarital sex.

Other campuses did not object to the condom handout, but the row shows how conservative attitudes dominate even the most free-thinking institutions.

As a result, Aids awareness here is still poor. In one recent survey, 40% of respondents could not name a single way to protect themselves against infection.