A child flies a kite with a red ribbon during a World AIDS Day event at the Olympic Green in Beijing, capital of China, November 30, 2008. UNAIDS and China Red Cross on Sunday jointly organized an event "One Goal One Dream - of a world without Stigma", in commemoration of the World AIDS Day 2008 which falls on December 1. [Xinhua]

That brings the total number who have contracted the virus to 264,302, including 77,753 AIDS patients, she said, adding 34,864 people had died.

Wang also said that unsafe sex had become the main mode of transmission - jumping from 28 percent in 2006 to more than 45 percent now.

"Heterosexual transmission accounted for 40.4 percent of the latest growth, and homosexuals, 5.1 percent," she said, adding many high-risk groups, such as prostitutes, are still unaware of prevention methods.

She said social discrimination toward the infected was the key reason behind their reluctance to go for tests.

"But if the infected are unwilling to be exposed, the danger of spreading of the epidemic is higher," she added.

At the Bird's Nest Sunday, Zhao Shijing, 21, a student from Shandong province, was among the audience.

"It is a very alien topic to me," Zhao, who only read about AIDS to prepare for his high school exam, said. "I don't think it will ever happen to me."

Yan Cunyu, a genetic researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who also attended the event, applauded the creative awareness program at the popular tourist site.

"The epidemic is spreading," he said. "It is a problem we have to face together."

However, Yan said, more activities are needed at the community level and students should be made more aware.

(China Daily December 1, 2008)