I'm HIV-positive and I'm gay. Now you may ask questions," says Murong Feng, a 32-year-old AIDS activist speaking recently at an AIDS education event at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou.

Some students stand up and applaud. Some go to the stage to embrace him or shake his hand. This is the high point of a series of discussions and activities to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS.

Murong, from Hebei Province in northern China, tested positive for HIV in 2005. Since 2007 he has been giving speeches about AIDS prevention and discrimination against those who are HIV-positive and those who live with the disease.

He is the founder of Hebei's Light of Love & Care Group of PWHA (People With HIV AIDS).

Last month, he was invited by the Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention to give university talks to promote college students' awareness of preventing AIDS and respecting patients with HIV and AIDS.

Colleges and universities, once considered "safe" from AIDS, are no longer safe.

China's Ministry of Health reported in late 2009 that the number of HIV-infected people and those with AIDS has been steadily increasing over the past three yeas. Men having sex with men is the dominant means of transmission, according to the report.

Last year 19 college students were confirmed to be HIV-positive and 17 were infected through male homosexual sex, according to the Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP).

To a certain extent, the gay community in universities represents the country's gay community. The Ministry of Health reported that from 2007 to 2009, the rate of newly tested infection involving male homosexuals rose from 12.2 percent to 32.5 percent.

More troubling, the actual rate could be as high as 40-50 percent, says Zhang Beichuan, a professor from Qingdao University's Medical School, who has been an AIDS activist among gay men for years.

One reason for the increase is the fact that more gays are encouraged to receive physical exams and HIV blood tests.

Ding Cheng (not his real name), a fresh master's degree graduate from a well-known university, recently tested positive for HIV. The local CDCP said he was infected by one of his male partners when they did not use a condom.

He is deeply depressed and gave up an excellent job that he recently found.

Because of confidentiality, the CDCP could not disclose his name.

His mother, who had saved considerable funds for her son, is also depressed.

"Having more than one sexual partner and not using a condom greatly raises the chances of HIV infection," says Dr Luo Yan, vice director of the Department of Prevention and Control of AIDS and Venereal Disease of the Hangzhou CDCP.

Fang Hao (not his real name) was infected two years ago when he was only 15 and realized he was sexually attracted to men. He registered on gay dating websites. At times he had unprotected sex with men whom he met on the Internet. Months later he visited a doctor about an inflammation and was told he was HIV-positive. He doesn't know who infected him.

Feng said he had no idea that a condom used properly would prevent HIV infection. He thought it was only for heterosexuals to prevent pregnancy.

"Severe lack of sex education leads to the non-stop infection among students," said Professor Zhang form Qingdao. "Sex education should be carried out before children's adolescence."

"Colleges and schools may think they've had enough sex education, but the truth is there's far from enough," says Luo from Hangzhou CDCP.

"It is very urgent to promote the awareness of preventing AIDS in colleges and among youths," said activist Feng. "Due to the sophistication and the openness of modern society as well as adolescents' physical needs, premarital sex and one-night stands are common among young people, including high school students, college students and migrant workers."

In China, the stigma attached to being a gay man makes intervention difficult. Homosexuality was not removed from the official list of mental disorders until 2001.

Stigmatization of homosexual behavior fuels transmission, as there is no open atmosphere in which risk and specific safe-sex practices can be openly discussed.

There is some good news. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) increasingly are stepping forward to help gay men infected with HIV and their families and friends.

Activist Feng estimates that there are around 400 such NGOs nationwide.

In Hangzhou, the leading NGO is the Zhejiang Homosexuality Volunteer Team founded in 2005. It has more than 300 volunteers, and more than 90 percent of them are gays and lesbians.

They adopt peer education, which shortens the distance between patients and volunteers and makes the information more accessible and credible, according to team director Wang Long, a 57-year-old gay man who is not infected.

The team mainly gives lectures on HIV transmission and AIDS to gay men and distributes education materials and condoms. The team has a hotline, (0571) 8562-1855 (7:30pm-10pm), and professionally trained volunteers offer mental intervention and answer the questions on prevention.

Although Chinese society is more tolerate toward homosexuality than in the past, discrimination is still powerful. It has not been easy for the team to carry on for five years with little funding, occasionally getting funds from international foundations.

Last October, the team lost its main source of funds: A foreign NGO supporting the team had its own financial problems. So Wang used his own savings to cover operating costs, including salaries of three full-time employees.

Lack of funding is a common problem for grassroots organizations nationwide. Without donations from domestic enterprises or individuals, they turn to foreign foundations. Light of Love & Care Group of PWHA also applies for foreign funds to survive.

"We wish the government would incorporate our team into its efforts," Wang said. "It may be hard for the government to set up a peer education team like ours, but including us would facilitate everyone's work."

The group has another major goal - reducing discrimination from society, against both gay men and people with HIV/AIDS.

Even though the rates of HIV infection and AIDS have climbed among youth, especially young gay men, labeling gays as high risk is not correct," said activist Feng.

"AIDS is spreading to the whole population and it is risky for everyone, men and women, especially if they lack knowledge about health and safety precautions," he said.

In his workshop at Zhejiang University, Feng led a game in which he distributed pieces of paper to a dozen students. They described all kinds of people present at the event: student, professor, doctor, migrant worker, housewife, gay, lesbian, housewife, athlete, drug user.

Attendees ranked the types according to what they believed to be risky. As a result, gays, drug users and migrant workers were ranked high risk, while athletes, doctors and housewives were considered low risk.

"In fact, no matter whether doctor or drug user, everybody faces possible infection," Feng explained. "The only way to prevent AIDS is to understand transmission and avoid risky behaviors."