近日，北京首先在朝陽區疾控中心推出男同性戀門診，為在京居住生活的男同性戀人群開展為期一年的性病、艾滋病免費檢測及性病免費治療。該項目為期一年，所需醫療資源得到了中國疾病預防控制中心、朝陽區疾病預防控制中心的支持。據悉，該門診將保護求診人的隱私，醫生將遵循保密原則。自愿參與或求診于男同性戀門診者，需要先登錄“你好志愿者網”填寫相關報名申請。第一天就有500多人在網上報名。據介紹，就診患者將獲得50元手機充值卡，作為交通費補償。

"Gay Liberation"，installed in Christopher Park, is a life-size bronze sculpture by George Segal that depicts two same-sex couples, female and male. Beijing's first clinic for gay people, also China's first to provide free services, opened Wednesday, providing checkups for all sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).  Xiao Dong, head of the Chaoyang Chinese AIDS Volunteer Group, said free treatment would be given to STD carriers, and confirmed HIV carriers would be introduced to national free treatment programmes. People wanting checkups should log on to the group's website (www.hivolunt.net) and fill in an application form before going to the clinic. More than 500 people signed up yesterday. "As China marches on, so do its medical services. We hope this programme will underline the common medical rights enjoyed by gays," Xiao told China Daily yesterday. Patients will be treated anonymously, and their privacy will be respected, Xiao said. Moreover, they will be given a mobile phone card worth 50 yuan (US$6.25) as compensation for their transport costs. The non-governmental organization will need more financial support as more people participate. "Medical treatment costs will be much higher than the original budget can cope with, as most people signing up are disease carriers already. We were initially expecting the majority to simply want checkups," said Xiao. The STD and AIDS Prevention Centre, run by the China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Chaoyang District Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided the start-up funding. The clinic, located in the Chaoyang CDC, will expand to three community hospitals, including the nearby Shibalidian Township Hospital, the Asian Games Village Hospital in the north and another new one to be built, to provide convenient and confidential services. In August, the Chaoyang CDC opened a gay forum on its website, the first of its kind with official support. "The forum reflects the progressive posture taken by some officials," Xiao said. Zhao Zheng, a volunteer at the clinic, said: "Things related to homosexuality are quite accepted among younger people in China. As our society becomes more mature, it is becoming more magnanimous." China's free AIDS treatments cover 25,000 patients across the country. The country has spent nearly 288 million yuan (US$36 million) on the sector in the past three years, accounting for 14.3 per cent of the total anti-AIDS outlay, the Ministry of Health said. The only official figure for male homosexuality was released in 2004, putting the total number of gay men at between 5 and 10 million. But Xiao said the number may actually be between 10 and 50 million, though a number of homosexuals marry women and have children. The figure in Beijing is around 300,000, 2 per cent of whom are HIV carriers, he said. (China Daily)

Vocabulary:

checkup: 體檢 free treatment: 免費治療 fill in an application form: 填寫申請表格 anonymous: 匿名的 magnanimous: 包容的 （英語點津陳蓓編輯）