Sunday, when the AIDS awareness symbol-a red ribbon-was unveiled at the Olympic Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing, Chinese health authorities, along with the United Nations AIDS agency made a promise to fight discrimination against people suffering from the condition.

The decision comes after many years during which the Chinese government has shrouded in silence the fact that AIDS was actually a major issue which many were facing and that fear of discrimination at the work place prevented people from getting tested for HIV infection.

Also on Sunday, state television showed viewers Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during his visit in a village in eastern China's Anhui province, an area severely affected by the disease, where Wen spoke to patients at their bedside and children whose parents had died from AIDS.

In order to mark World AIDS Day, held on December 1, a 66-foot by 50-foot banner featuring the red ribbon was unveiled at the Bird's Nest stadium, where country coordinator of UNAIDS in China Dr. Bernhard Schwartlander delivered a speech. The latter revealed that a large number of Chinese people who ran the risk of getting AIDS refused to undergo HIV tests and thus denied themselves treatment, because they were afraid of coming to be discriminated against.

According to official estimates released by UNAIDS, there are currently 700,000 people with HIV in China, of which 85,000 suffer from AIDS. Nevertheless, the number of cases that Chinese officials have reported is a mere 264,302, due to the fact that many have not been tested yet.

In 2007, the worldwide death toll that AIDS claimed amounted to 2.1 million people.