Beijing authorities plan to issue special cards to married women
that will allow them to get condoms for free from vending machines
placed throughout the city, state media said.
The machines, which will begin operating next month, will
initially appear at 100 different locations in the city of 13
million people, the Beijing Times reported.
At the start of the pilot project, 60,000 married women will be
issued with cards that entitle them to 12 packs of condoms a
year.
The machines will help remove the awkwardness women feel when
buying condoms from salespeople, the paper said.
Birth control is a top government priority in China and urban
couples are usually restricted to having just one child, facing
certain penalties if they decide to have a second baby.
(China Daily December 21, 2003)