Zhejiang University Medical School invited the first Chinese college student who has admitted to being an HIV carrier, alias Zhu Liya, to give a speech on AIDS prevention on November 26, 2006.

 

Zhu has already spoken on AIDS prevention at a number of universities across the country.

 

23-year-old Zhu was diagnosed HIV positive in 2004 after she had sex with a foreigner while studying at Wuhan University. She became an AIDS activist and wrote a book about her experiences. It was published in January this year.

 

She alluded to unprotected sex during her speech on Sunday, "I felt great regret that no one was there to warn me not to do that."

 

Zhu hopes her peers will learn from her harsh experiences and follow what she calls the ABC of love: A. try to avoid premarital sex, B. if that fails, try to have only one sexual partner, C. if that fails, use a condom.

 

Many online surveys have discovered that Chinese university students have open-minded attitudes on sex, but most still think they are not in danger of contracting HIV and AIDS.

 

The Beijing News last week said more than 180,000 AIDS cases have been reported so far in China. Infected needles shared between drug addicts and unsafe sex are the major means of transmission.

 

As the World AIDS Day draws near on December 1st, authorities at all levels are actively trying to promote knowledge about HIV/AIDS.

 

(CRI November 27, 2006)