Zhang Shuying, 56, who has been the director of a neighborhood
block committee in the Qinghe residential area of Haidian district
in
Beijing
for 13 years, recently encountered a task he did not want to
complete.
"A
few days ago, I was informed to look for a place to install a
condom dispensing machine. To tell the truth, this was the first
time that I refused to do an assigned task," he said.
Over 500 hundred condom dispensers presently are being installed in
the areas of Haidai district in Beijing. Some 200 already have been
installed with the rest expected to be in place by the middle of
the October.
Zhang said he thinks a condom dispenser is not appropriate for the
streets, and that he became convinced of that after seeing a young
boy blowing up a condom for fun after buying it in a
newly-installed street dispenser that accepts one yuan in coin.
Having condom dispensers on the streets will influence adolescents
who may have matured physically but not psychologically, Zhang
said.
To
finish a task ordered from above, the director did allow workers to
install the machine - but on a corner off the beaten track. Since
workers figured nobody could find the machine at that location, in
the end, they cancelled the job.
Zhang said that he'd like to condom dispensers installed in hotels
or drugstores rather than on the streets or in public
restrooms.
(Beijing Youth Daily report translated for china.org.cn by
unisumoon October 5, 2001)