A research document entitled "Comparative Studies on Sex Knowledge, Attitude and Behavior of Shenzhen & Hong Kong Youth," conducted by the Shenzhen Family Planning and Reproduction Research Center, shows Shenzhen youth are deficient in sex knowledge compared with their Hong Kong peers, but hold a more open attitude towards sexual behavior, according to a report in the Nanfang Dushi Daily.

The main sexual knowledge resources of Shenzhen youth are public media (including newspapers, magazines, TV programs, radio broadcasts and books), followed by partners' instruction and special lectures on sex education. Meanwhile, Hong Kong youth get their sex knowledge mainly from special lectures on sex education, with the public media and partners and teachers ranking second and third. More Hong Kong students get their sex knowledge from teachers than students in Shenzhen. More than half of the Shenzhen middle school students think they badly need comprehensive sex education, especially on venereal diseases, prevention of AIDS, and advice on sex psychology and morality.

Shenzhen students showed more tolerance towards extramarital sex and dating than Hong Kong students: nearly 50 percent boys and 42 percent girls saying yes to pre-marital cohabitation. About half of the male students and 35 percent of the females accepted pre-marital sex in Shenzhen; 50 percent of the males and 23 percent of the females are comfortable with adult movies and other materials. Thirty percent of young people in Shenzhen think induced abortion acceptable. Forty percent of male students and 34 percent of female ones also think it acceptable to have more than one dating partner over a certain period.

There are students in both regions who have taken following actions: love affairs, masturbation, watching media materials with adult content, and having sex. The rate of students having contacts with materials with adult content (especially on the Internet) in Shenzhen was much higher than that of Hong Kong. The percentage of male students with sexual experience in Shenzhen was higher than that in Hong Kong. The average age of Shenzhen students' having their first date were 1.8 (male) and 1.6 years (female) lower than in Hong Kong.

(china.org.cn by James Liu, July 6, 2002)