A hospital in eastern China that made teenage boys strip naked for a medical check-up during a university entrance exam has apologised following a public outcry.

The story caught public attention earlier this month after a parent complained to the Zhejiang provincial government that male students were told to take off all their clothes for a physical examination at a hospital in Hangzhou, the provincial capital.

Health check-ups are a standard part of China’s competitive university entrance examination, known as the gaokao. Students with certain health conditions are barred from applying to institutions like the military, the police force and pilot training schools.

The parent who made the complaint said they had spoken with other students undergoing the check-up, including girls, and previous graduates from their child’s secondary school, who all said they were allowed to wear underwear during the examination, The Paper reported.

“Are doctors abusing their power? Or is this required by the rules?” the parent asked.

“If it is the doctor’s fault, how will they solve this issue? If it is a required practice, why don’t other students have to get naked? The authorities should give us an explanation about the infringement of privacy.”

The Xiaoshan District Health Bureau confirmed in a statement on April 10 that there had been inappropriate behaviour during the check-ups of some teenage boys who were told to remove all their clothes during physical examinations. The statement did not disclose the name of the hospital involved.

The authority said under the set arrangement, two male surgeons are present at each check-up site where male students are asked to perform basic physical tests like curling their fists, raising their arms, squatting down and walking, but acknowledged they are not required to be naked.

“The hospital has made a sincere apology to the complainant and taken immediate action to address the problem. A screen has been put in the examination room and male students will be taken behind it to remove their underwear for further check-ups, only if doctors think there is a valid reason to do so,” the authority said.

The incident has caused outrage on mainland Chinese social media.

“I can’t imagine dozens of naked boys were crammed in a room following a doctor’s orders just to do a simple check-up,” said one person on Douyin.

“The point is that they don’t respect people’s privacy. Boys also deserve privacy,” another person commented.

However, not everyone felt the examinations were done in an inappropriate manner.

One person said: “Boys are too precious these days.”

Another commenter asked: “Many years ago in secondary school, my peers and I were made to strip naked during a physical check-up. What’s wrong with that?”

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