Former James Bond actor Sir Roger Moore has taken aim at hotels and schools in Beijing for turning away a group of AIDS orphans in town for a three-day summer camp.

Now a UNICEF goodwill envoy visiting China to draw attention to the problems of children orphaned by the country's HIV/AIDS crisis, Moore said Beijing hotels, hostels and schools "should hang their heads in shame" for not helping the 72 children.

Chinese newspapers reported in recent days that the children, attending a UNICEF camp which opened on Tuesday, had been turned away by 30 to 40 hotels or schools.

The discrimination reflects widespread misconceptions about HIV/AIDS and how it is transmitted, but Moore says he is hopeful that China can overcome the problem.

(CRI August 12, 2004)