Amid grim AIDS situation, China's gay groups set to flourish

by Xinhua Writers Bai Xu, Wang Ying

SHENYANG, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- It was an ordinary apartment in downtown Shenyang with several computers and bookshelves in three bedrooms.

In the frigidity of the capital city of northeast China's Liaoning Province, boys dropped in in twos and threes, chatting with the staff in the room or surfing on the internet to kill time.

But the rainbow flags hanging on the wall hinted that the room was not ordinary at all, as such flags were widely used to symbolize gay and lesbian community pride.

"Our 'Support of Love' consulting center was aimed to provide service to the MSM group," said 24-year-old Xiao Shun (not his real name). MSM means men who have sex with men.

　　A GAY'S STORY

Xiao Shun didn't realize he was gay until six years ago after a bitter experience with a girlfriend, which he didn't want to recall much. "It hurt my feeling greatly," he said.

Then a male friend approached him, and Xiao Shun found that he gradually developed love to someone of the same gender as his own.

At first, Xiao Shun was depressed and embarrassed. He tried to date girls, only to find himself uninterested at all.

"I wanted to know more about gays, but I could just hide in the corner of an internet cafe to surf online."

He soon joined some gay groups and became member of a non-government organization (NGO) of gays.

"I began to know that I'm not alone," he said.

The boy became a member of the 'support of love' consulting center in May after graduating from college with a bachelor degree on media.

One of Xiao Shun's job in the center was to teach "money boys" (male who have sex with men to earn money) about safe sex in nightclubs.