China has recently introduced its first cartoon book series on
puberty and sex education from the Republic of Korea.
The book series, "I want to know myself," has been popular for
primary and middle school students in Korea. China has translated
it and made some changes to suit Chinese adolescent's needs.
"The book is laden with meticulous care for children's healthy
growth," said Chen Xuefeng with the China children center. "It is
very helpful to children's smooth transition to adolescence."
China, a country that has traditionally rarely discussed sex
publicly, has published several sex education books in recent
years, revealing a more open and scientific attitude.
During the past decade, the overall health of about 323 million
young people aged 10 to 24 has been improving steadily. However,
according to the Population and Development Country Report issued
in September, they have experienced an earlier age of sexual and
psychological maturity. Young people are now more open toward sex
and their sexual ethics are changing; at the same time, premarital
pregnancies and induced abortions have increased.
"Teenagers have become sexually mature and active much earlier,
but lack of sexual education will put them in a position that's
very vulnerable to HIV/AIDS," said Liu Liqing, chief representative
of Marie Stopes, a branch of the British non-commercial public
service organization.
Officials and experts said that half of the country's Internet
population of 87 million are people under the age of 24. Many of
these young people visit porn sites to learn about sex, because
there are few other sources of information. Sex education has
always been a low priority in schools, and parents are often
reluctant to talk about the still-taboo issue.
In April 2002, a textbook on sex was for the first time
officially published on the Chinese mainland.
In September this year, the country incorporated sexual and
reproduction knowledge into the formal school curriculum.
(Xinhua News Agency December 26, 2004)