A gay bar funded by the local government health bureau opened in November 2009 in Dali, in Yunnan Province. The bar aims to educate gay people about safe sex and HIV/AIDS prevention.

By the early 20th century, world medical opinion had shifted from viewing homosexuality as a moral issue, and concluded it was simply an aspect of human nature. It followed that gay people should be accorded respect and should be able to live openly and without social stigma. The halting journey towards social acceptance of homosexuality and gay people is one important measure of social progress in the world.

However, homosexual acts are one of the main causes of HIV/AIDS transmission. Homosexual sex accounts for 32 percent of new HIV/AIDS infections in China, China's Health Minister Chen Zhu said last week in Shanghai. Educating people on how to prevent HIV/AIDS infection has become an urgent social necessity.

But the government funded gay bar in Dali stirred up a local debate. Some people said homosexual sexual practices should be forbidden, to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. They said that opening the gay bar would encourage homosexuality. But if we sincerely believe as a society that gay people have equal rights and should enjoy equal freedoms, then why should we attempt to prevent homosexual sex? As a matter of fact there are very many gay bars around China, but they are often narrowly focused on making money and do little to promote public health messages. The focus of the Dali gay bar is to promote safe sex and HIV/AIDS prevention, which will benefit both gay people and society at large.

There have been objections to the government spending taxes on a gay bar. But preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS is a responsibility of government, and the government has a duty to spend its money in the most effective way. A government-funded gay bar is, in principle, the same as the free distribution of condoms. And it should be remembered that the government is only putting up the finance for the bar and will not be involved in its day-to-day management.

Homosexuals and homosexual acts are a social reality and society should act to eliminate potential safety concerns rather than avoiding the issue. The gay bar in Dali should be applauded as a creative government initiative that could be emulated elsewhere in China. The fact that there is public resistance to the idea shows that China has a long way to go in educating the public about HIV/AIDS, and overcoming widespread stigma against gay people.

This article was translated by Yang Xi.