Survey puts China's gay population at 10m

China released the results of its first government-backed survey on homosexuality, saying the mainland has a gay male population of between five and 10 million. The survey was carried out by the National Center for STD/Aids Prevention and Control which said results also indicated that around 1.35% of Chinese gay males were HIV positive. The head of the center, Lu Fan, told state media the survey was an important part of boosting government efforts to control the disease. He said China's gay population had been ignored for a long time, and that was hindering efforts to halt the spread of HIV infections. However, another leading HIV expert cast doubt on the survey's findings, saying he believed China's gay population to be closer to 20 million.