30 November 2009
The Chinese government is opening an official bar for gay men as part of local authorities' efforts to fight HIV and AIDS. The bar is based in Dali, a town in the south western Yunnan province. Yunnan has the country's highest rates of HIV and AIDS, according to official data. The government said it funded the 120,000 yuan (17,500 US dollar) project to reach out to the gay community in China and break social stigma against gay men. The bar is staffed by volunteers from a local non-government organisation that works to prevent AIDS. China's health minister claimed earlier this month that homosexual sex among gay and bisexual men accounted for 32 per cent of HIV and AIDS transmission in the country. Tomorrow's inauguration coincides with World AIDS Day.
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