A recently established hospital ethics committee in Shenzhen has promised that patients can say "no" if asked by staff for health information or body fluid samples.

Doctors have previously been able to take and keep such samples without patients' permission and force them to answer personal health questions.

In order to protect patients' privacy, Shenzhen Chronic Disease Treatment and Control Hospital set up such a committee to make sure patients have the right to refuse to be test subjects, the Shenzhen Daily reports.

(China Daily April 25, 2005)