EFFORTS AND SCRAPE OF A GAY ORGANIZATION

    Founded in August 2005, the 'Support of Love' consulting cente rwas formerly known as the "Ark Tongzhi Care Group." Tongzhi, literally meaning "comrade" in Chinese, is how the country's five to ten million homosexuals are jokingly addressed.

    According to its founder, 36-year-old Tie Cheng, they now have 60 to 70 volunteers.

    The center conducts free counseling and testing each Thursday, with doctors from the disease prevention and control center (CDC) of Huanggu district in Shenyang, where the center located.

    On average, it receives 20 to 30 people each day, with one or two of them found as HIV positive.

    To prevent spread of the deadly disease, the center distributes free condoms in bathrooms, nightclubs, pubs and even public toilets.

    Some of the condoms are given by local CDC and some from other NGOs. But due to the lack of fund, the condoms they provide are far from enough.

    "We have about 6,000 condoms a month, but more than 10,000 are needed," Tie Cheng said. "Some money boys could use ten each day."

    As money boys are a highly mobile group, the center extends its networks to other gay groups, covering the entire three provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning in northeast China.

    "If a man is confirmed positive, he could get help from other organizations even after he leaves Shenyang," Tie Cheng said. His ambition is to further expand the network, if possible, to all the provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China.

    This ambition seems possible as people are increasingly tolerant to homosexuality in China.

    On December 1, the World AIDS Day, a gay pub funded by local health bureau is to open in Dali, a tourism city of southwest China's Yunnan Province.

    "The government earmarked 120,000 yuan to an NGO who runs the pub," said Jiang Anmin, deputy director of the Dali health bureau.

    The border province has about 23 percent of China's reported HIV infected people and AIDS patients, while Dali is one of the worst-hit area in the province.

    Tie Cheng said he used to have difficulty registering his organization in 2004, but now, it has gained support from local health authorities.

    "It is necessary to cooperate with the center," said Xu Chunjuan, director of the CDC of Huanggu district. "Our work among gay group was initially blank as we had no access to their community."

    Universities also cooperated with Tie Cheng's center. "The work toward a special group needs the support from that group," said Li Jian, professor with the School of Literature and Law of the Northeastern University.

    But the center's work is not easy.

    "Prostitution is illegal in China and local public security bureau always have campaigns cracking down on the money boys," said Xiao Shun.

    "This (money boy) is a sensitive topic," said an official in charge of publicity in Shenyang's public security bureau surnamed Wang. "If we turn a blind eye to the violation of the law, it is a dereliction of duty."

    In Shenyang there are three homosexual groups including the center, but Xiao Shun estimated that their work just reached half of the MSM population.

　　XIAO SHUN'S AGONY

    Although Xiao Shun really likes his work which he considers meaningful, he is unhappy to hear people associating gays with HIV/AIDS.

    "We don't want to be seen as demons who spread the plague," he said. "We are normal people as well and we want to be treated as normal."

    Xiao Shun said he was under great pressure: his father has passed away and his mother wants him to marry a girl.

    The rainbow flags in his office was drew by homosexuals this past June when they launched a march involving more than 20 across the Zhongshan Square in downtown Shenyang.

    "Hopefully next year they could come back, signing their names on the flag."