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)