(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-12-06 19:54

A nationwide video campaign, with a clip from movie star Jackie Chan, was launched Thursday to promote condom use and raise awareness of AIDS in China.

Jackie Chan

The campaign, entitled "Life is Too Good," includes three TV clips produced by Ruby Yang and American Thomas Lennon, who won an Oscar last year for their documentary on Chinese children orphaned by AIDS.

One video shows Chan saying that while a good movie needs danger, in life it is better to be safe.

The United Nations Development Fund, which is backing the campaign, said hundreds of millions of people will see the advertisements every month over the next year.

A host of private Chinese companies have agreed to use the clips on video screens in airports, on buses and online at www.56.com, a Chinese video-sharing site.

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"It is everyone's responsibility to prevent the spread of AIDS," said Jay Chang, president of www.56.com.

A recent report from a joint project by UNAIDS and a committee of the State Council, China's Cabinet, found that sex is now the main cause of the spread of the disease in China. It found that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, was moving out of groups considered high risk, such as drug users, into the general population.

The report estimated that about 700,000 people are living with HIV in China, with an estimated 50,000 new cases and 20,000 AIDS-related deaths this year.

The report found that condom use remains low among vulnerable groups, such as gay men and prostitutes. About 60 percent of prostitutes do not use condoms every time, the report found.

The Ministry of Health, which recently said it is working with civic groups and celebrities to help reduce the stigma against AIDS, also cooperated on the series.

The other clips show China's leading folk singer, Peng Liyuan, exhorting young graduates who are celebrating their last day of high school to protect themselves, and renowned Chinese actor Pu Cunxin cycling through a Chinese city telling young lovers that condoms reduce risk.