Some say it is insane. Some say it is understandable. But for He Qiang himself, undergoing a transsexual surgery to become a "real woman" is just something he has been dreaming about since he was a little kid.

"When I was as young as three years old, I found myself different from other boys as I felt subconsciously that I should be a girl," said He, who received a breast enlargement operation two days ago at a Guangdong plastic surgery hospital.

"Breast enlargement is the first phase of the whole operationfacial and skin plastic surgery will be conducted in March and followed by a reproductive organ removal and re-plantation scheduled in May," said Shen Shaoyong, the doctor in charge of He's transsexual operation.

"After the three operations He will transform from a man to a woman completely," Shen added.

The surgery is the first of its kind ever recorded by the country to be conducted on a male university student.

He, who graduated from Guangzhou Nanhua Business Administration College last year, is currently working at a local tourism company.

From December 21, 2006, He has established his own blog through Oeeee.com and a few other websites to express his will of becoming a real woman. Calling his blog "Sister Butterfly's," He said that he "was born as a man but was determined to be a woman."

"It is just that a woman's heart has been put into a man's body."

Though the pronunciation of He's Chinese given name, "Qiang," remains the same, He has changed the Chinese word itself from the one meaning "strong" to another signifying the name of a flower.

He described himself as a person "living and walking at the verge of society."

"I hope that more people can understand and support persons like myself," He said in a blog.

"It is your destiny to be a man or a womanany attempt to change it by means such as a transsexual operation is against the natural rules, which I think is disgusting," said one net surfer calling himself 123.

A net friend nicknamed "Leiyunong," however, expressed her admiration toward Liu. "Welcome to the girls' team," she said. "Don't care about what other people say to youif men do not understand you, we women will understand and support you."

Born in 1985 in Southwest China's Sichuan province, He is the only son in his family and has two older sisters. The family risked being fined for excessive birth to have him so that He could "help pass the family's generation on".

He's family finally gave in before his determination to be a woman. "But don't come back home within 10 years," He's father said.

"I am not doing this for hyping or for making money," He said. "I just want to live as a woman later and fall in love with a man."

(China Daily 02/14/2007 page5)