In a survey of four universities in southeastern China's Fujian Province, 92 percent of students said they accept premarital sex, according to a report in China Youth Daily.

The 92 percent of the 192 students surveyed think sex before marriage is acceptable under one of the situations: planning to marry, loving each other or both partners wanting to have sex.

Twenty-seven percent of interviewees think they have sex in order to prove the fidelity of love to their partners, 26 percent said they do it to seek for sexual pleasure, 25 percent said they do not want to reject the desire of their boyfriend of girlfriend, while 10 percent said it is a symbol of maturity.

In the survey, chastity is not put in the spotlight among the 20 factors influencing the selection of a partner, such as personality, appearance, education, occupation, income, health and social ability. About half of the students surveyed even do not include chastity in the list of top ten factors.

The organizers of the survey, Cheng Ling, Liang Meifeng and Yang Ri, all university teachers, said in their paper based on the survey that the lack of sex education and ignorance about relevant consequences are common among university students. Some students face unwanted pregnancy and venereal diseases.

Experts think that it cannot be simply judged right or wrong for university students' sexual behavior. They suggest that universities and colleges provide more physical and psychological knowledge about sex.

(Xinhua News Agency October 20, 2004)