The condom manufacturer Durex has just released the results of its 2004 Global Sex Survey, which claims that the Chinese have had more sexual partners than anyone else - 19.3 compared with Brazilians (15.2), Japanese (12.7) and Danes (12.5), while people around the world have had an average number of 10.5 sexual partners.

The survey has sparked uproar among the Chinese public and media, provoking strong criticism. Reasonable doubt has been raised about the accuracy of the survey. Frankly speaking, the inaccuracy of the survey is self-evident, even an idiot wouldn't be fooled into thinking that the Chinese have had an average of 19.3 sexual partners.

China's major newspapers like the People's Daily and the Youth Daily have published editorials over the results of the 2004 Durex Global Sex Survey. The editorials said that Durex claimed its survey had covered 100,000 interviewees, but it's a small group in a country that has a population of over 1.3 billion. Meanwhile, the survey was conducted through the Internet and was anonymous. The editorials doubted how many interviewees had taken the survey seriously.

Whatever the reasons, one thing is certain: the Durex survey figure of 19.3 is grossly exaggerated. As a matter of fact, foreigners, especially Westerners, do not think that China is a sexually liberated society. It is quite obvious that Durex has misrepresented the results of the survey to claim that the Chinese have the most sexual partners in the world.

Nevertheless, there is no denial that the Chinese society is also plagued by the ideology of sexual liberation, which has led to a sharp increase in premarital, extramarital and casual sex.

Just take a look at the people around us, we can find that many have had more than one sexual partner. Keeping a concubine or bao ernai has in recent years become rampant in the more developed regions of the country, and having a mistress is a common practice among certain social groups. Meanwhile, the Chinese are becoming more and more liberal in their attitudes towards sex. We are seeing more young men and women having more and more sexual partners over time.

An important reason for this trend is the gradual erosion of traditional moral standards and the absence of sexual restraint. On one hand, we are indifferent to the fact that traditional sexual morality is breaking down, and we are little concerned about the invasion of Western sexual values. On the other hand, in the media, particularly on television, sex is everywhere - in news coverage of sex scandals, in commercials, in movies, and in music videos.

Some Chinese, under the influence of Western sexual attitudes, are denouncing the Chinese version of life as conservative. Some avant-garde woman writers have been clamouring for "writing with body." All this has unfortunately misled the younger generation. Under such circumstances, it is not entirely surprising that the Chinese have had an increased number of sexual partners.

Sex is more than personal. It is also a social matter and has at the same time legal, ethical and moral implications. Sexual partnership is more than just physical, it is also a mirror reflecting the civilization and morality of a society. In this sense, not only should we not strive to be at the top of the Durex survey, we should also not strive to score high in the rankings, for this survey is not an indicator of overall national strength or the quality of its people.

Sexual liberalization has led to spiraling rates of sexually transmitted diseases, and it has also caused a lot of social problems. The Durex Sex survey is not accurate and the survey results are misrepresented. Nevertheless, it can serve as a negative example, forcing us to do some rethinking, awakening us to realize that sexual liberty is not freedom for a society, and reminding us to be mindful of the dire consequences of sexual immorality.

starcomment@yahoo.com