For many years after the first AIDS case was discovered in New York in 1981, the Chinese believed that AIDS was something that would never happen in their country. However, 26 years after that first incident, HIV/AIDS prevention is now one of the biggest challenges China is facing. Prevention and control campaigns that had previously focused on sex sellers and buyers are now targeting other high-risk groups such as drug addicts, homosexuals and migrant workers. And in a very progressive move, HIV/AIDS education is now being taught to Chinese children.

A textbook dealing with HIV/AIDS prevention is now used in 80 percent of Beijing's middle schools, covering such topics as abstinence from premarital sex, rejection of online relationships and proper use of condoms.

"Unprotected sex" is listed as an important HIV/AIDS transmission channel. The textbook contains the ABC approach to HIV/AIDS prevention that is widely adopted worldwide, namely, abstinence, or delayed sexual encounters among youth; be faithful, which means avoiding sexual intercourse other than with a mutually faithful uninfected partner, and condomise, namely, correct and consistent use of condoms.

In China, discussing sex has traditionally been, and in many quarters still is, considered taboo. Therefore, the textbook dealing with HIV/AIDS prevention has inevitably sparked debates nationwide.

Some believe that when it comes to sex, honesty pays, and it's better to inform young people of the realities than embark on a cover-up strategy. They strengthen their argument by referring to the fact that official statistics show that by the end of 2006, there were already 650,000 HIV/AIDS carriers or patients in China, proof enough that AIDS was here and now, and the best ammunition children could have is knowledge about the disease and how to prevent it.

Opponents of sex education argue that "how to use a condom" instructions in a textbook may send the wrong message to students, who may deduce that being active sexually is now condoned by schools because of the sex education courses. This could lead to sexual experimentation at an earlier age, and besides, say detractors, condoms are not as reliable as originally thought. According to the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States, condoms will help to reduce the risk of a sexually transmitted disease like gonorrhea being passed from female to male by 49-100 percent, but not when the male is already infected with gonorrhea. As far as HIV/AIDS is concerned, condoms can reduce the risk by 85 percent, but the 15 percent possibility of failure in this case means the equivalent of them being 100 percent unsafe.

Sex education ok for young students

Xia Yucai (hlj.rednet.com): Those who believe compulsory HIV/AIDS prevention, such as learning how to use a condom, will prompt young students to have sex, worry too much. They focus too much on the sex itself and neglect the role of sexual morals.

Children are always curious about the unknown, so whether sex education appears in textbooks or not, they will find out on their own. Nowadays, condoms are no longer strange things to the young and it's better to bring them out into the open than to hide them. Children who are sex savvy will not necessarily have sex. Moreover, in most cases, when the truth is told, even the most mysterious things lose their appeal, which is the same with sex.

The key does not lie in condoms but whether young students can have sex. Without being aware of sexual morality, condom instructions and knowledge of contraception will be a mistake, ending up in failure.

Zhou Tianhua (China Youth Daily): With the development of modern civilization, people now understand that sex is natural and a part of being human. We do not support the inhuman abstinence that prevailed in the feudal society, but are also opposed to sexual promiscuity. The young students are not mature either psychologically or physically, so it's important to warn them of the harm of premarital sex. Besides, to possess correct values on love and the right sense of social responsibility is the basic moral quality that a harmonious society demands of its citizens.

Beijing has taken a timely action in offering compulsory HIV/AIDS prevention education. Chinese society needs the wisdom and innovative spirit shown in this campaign. This is a farsighted and responsible action for the future. China lags years behind developed countries in terms of sex education and HIV/AIDS prevention education. We need to understand that victims of the ongoing resistance to sex education in middle schools are the adolescents, not the adults.

Lin Yi (sina.com.cn): We should not misread sexual education as encouraging students to go out and have sex, but rather as a way to protect students against potential physical and psychological harm. Psycholo-gically speaking, students in middle schools are still young and are unable to control their own emotions or behaviors. There is ample evidence that young students have sex because they cannot curb their sexual impulse. Without proper knowledge of what they are doing, serious results may arise.

Condoms not only help to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, but they are also helpful as a form of contraception. We have already seen young students having abortions, something that may have been prevented had they been better educated about sex.

With the countless distractions in the modern world, knowledge is the best way for young people to protect themselves.

Wu Zuolai (Beijing News): Traditional Chinese sexual values regard sex as taboo, and virginity is believed to be even more important than life itself. As a result, on one hand, in China girls and boys are always estranged from each other and shy to mix; while on the other hand, due to the lack of sex education, children growing up in a vacuum are curious about this subject.

Curiosity prompts them to learn more about sex through the Internet or other channels, which more often than not results in unhealthy or incorrect sexual knowledge and poor moral values. Students' sexual instincts may also induce them to make irrational decisions leading to irreversible mistakes.

In terms of sex education, traditional values and concepts may be right to some extent, but the future of our young people also matters a lot. Unlike the generations 10 or 20 years ago, the young students nowadays have much more emotional experience and sexual knowledge. Through open sex education, their confusion about sex may be gradually removed and they can learn that a correct attitude toward sex can contribute to a healthy and happy life, while improper behavior may result in disasters for themselves and others.

Textbook on sex education unacceptable

Gao Zhenqian (hlj.rednet.com): As a way to persuade students to choose a healthy lifestyle, it may be of some help to offer detailed information about HIV/AIDS, but it seems improper to instruct them on condom use, as this is a sensitive topic to adults, let alone middle school students.

Having learned how to use condoms, will the children then have a practical demonstration as they always do in chemistry or physics classes? Driven by their curiosity and strong instinctive sexual desire, if there is no education on sexual morality, students are unlikely to control their own behavior. Besides, having learned that a condom can remove the fear of unexpected pregnancy, AIDS and venereal diseases, they may be more apt to experiment. Therefore, the current sex education may increase the risk of sex among young students.

There are examples that show condom instructions from textbooks cause first-time sex among children to take place much earlier. Sweden is the world's first country to offer compulsory sex education in middle schools in 1956. As a result, pregnancies in young girls increased by 60 percent from 1960 to 1965, accompanied by a growth in venereal disease patients. During the same period, the average age for the young to have their first sexual encounter dropped from 18-19 to 16. Nowadays, almost 100 percent of the young aged above 16 are sexually active, while 50 percent of all babies are illegitimate.

In China, sexual behavior among middle school students is not a common phenomenon. It seems too early to provide them with instructions on proper condom use. Besides, in the information age students may get relevant knowledge through many channels, making compulsory sex education unnecessary. On this issue, I think reading fine works of literature may do more to help students develop the correct attitude toward love and sexual morality.

Zhu Xinmei (Jiangnan City Daily): It is said that the textbook on HIV/AIDS prevention depicts the issue in a quite vivid way. I feel that sex education must take into full account both the psychological and physical health of middle school students, who are after all a relatively naive group.

We must focus on premarital abstinence and sexual morality.

When Uganda, the most heavily HIV-affected African country, began to energetically promote the ABC approach in 1991, 38 percent of girls aged from 15 to 19 were HIV positive. The rate declined to 7.3 percent in 1998 while the infection rate for adults dropped from 8.3 percent in 1999 to 5 percent in 2000. This may be the world's most dramatic success story of HIV/AIDS prevention. The guide on how to properly use condoms may be helpful in some way, but we need more effective methods that can avoid the many side effects the present teachings may incur.

Wang Yan (Jiangsu-based Modern Express): Since abstinence is suggested in the current textbook on HIV/AIDS prevention, why are there instructions on condom use? Maybe the reason is that the ABC approach is referred to in the textbook. But what this approach stresses is prevention of HIV/AIDS by avoiding incorrect sexual behavior, rather than abstinence.

This is a reflection of contradictory psychology: On one hand, schools have realized the necessity of sex education, so HIV/AIDS prevention courses are provided; on the other hand, the traditional outlook on sex prevents them from giving a full explanation of sexual matters, for fear that too many details may push students firmly toward total sexual liberation. As a result, premarital abstinence and instructions on condom use are two sets of totally contradictory content appearing in the same textbook. To some extent, the contradictory psychology shows the education departments' cautious and responsible attitude in dealing with this issue, something that is not rational. Teenagers are, generally speaking, very curious about sex. At the same moment they are becoming sexually aware, they are being told to abstain. This could stir up even more curiosity or even an antagonistic outlook-the more premarital abstinence is demanded, the more they want to explore the mystery.

Dou Dou (sohu.com): Nowadays in China, sex education is often used as a tool by the media or even the entertainment industry to boost their popularity. It seems condoms are the only method of sex education. Once the condom is part of the program, any activity will soon become attractive. Sex knowledge and especially sexual morality, which should be compulsory knowledge for students, are, however, always neglected. While contraception tools are already very familiar to the young students, without moral restrictions what do we expect to happen to the open-minded children who even think a "one-night stand" is nothing serious? Are we moving toward a scenario where condoms become the root of the sex crisis among Chinese students?