Earlier this month in China, where homosexuality was listed as a mental illness until five years ago, the first free clinic for gays, providing tests for AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, has opened its doors.
People wanting checkups would have to log on to the Beijing clinic Web site and fill in an application form, but patients would be treated anonymously, the China Daily said. During Mao Tse Tung’s era, homosexuals were persecuted and prison terms and death sentences meted out.
Many Chinese associate homosexuality with AIDS, fears of which run so strong that some people refuse to go to hospitals they believe treat AIDS patients, the China Daily said. China generally is becoming more tolerant, but homosexuals remain under heavy pressure within traditional families to stay in the closet.
Official nationwide estimates put the total number of gay men in China at between 5 and 10 million, realistically the number might be between 10 and 50 million.
