e-magazine
Looking to the Two Sessions
China's growth model, pollution and corruption are just a few of the major issues to be discussed
Current Issue
· Table of Contents
· Editor's Desk
· Previous Issues
· Subscribe to Mag
Subscribe Now >>
Expert's View
World
Nation
Business
Finance
Market Watch
Legal-Ease
North American Report
Forum
Government Documents
Expat's Eye
Health
Science/Technology
Lifestyle
Books
Movies
Backgrounders
Special
Photo Gallery
Blogs
Reader's Service
Learning with
'Beijing Review'
E-mail us
RSS Feeds
PDF Edition
Web-magazine
Reader's Letters
Make Beijing Review your homepage
Nation
Print Edition> Nation
UPDATED: March 3, 2014 NO. 10 MARCH 6, 2014
Eradicating the Sex Trade
China launched a nationwide crackdown on prostitution
By Yuan Yuan
Share

POLICE RAID: People in a Dongguan hotel are caught for alleged involvement in the sex trade on February 9 (CFP)

A crackdown on prostitution swept over China in February. The operation, which began in Dongguan, a city in south China's Guangdong Province known for its rampant sex service industry, came following an exposé by state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) that aired on February 9. An undercover journalist videotaped "beauty pageants" in Dongguan with a hidden-camera, featuring prostitutes and strippers in some of the city's hotels and karaoke clubs.

In the footage, prostitutes wore almost no clothing and walked like models in front of the "customers" with price labels attached to them. Such performances were available in all the hotels the journalist had been to.

This report elicited a strong and rapid response from officials and initiated a large-scale crackdown on prostitution. Just hours after the report was aired, the first of a series of raids were made in Dongguan. More than 6,000 police officers swept through hundreds of hotels, saunas and karaoke bars in the city on February 9, arresting at least 67 people, closing down 12 venues and suspending two police chiefs.

The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) followed up on demands to crack down on prostitution and pornography nationwide. As of February 21, police had captured 501 suspects, busted 73 prostitution-related gangs and suspended 2,410 venues providing sex services.

In Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, over 4,800 police officers raided more than 2,700 hotels and sauna rooms on February 17.

Long-term battle

Dongguan, which is located about 140 km from Hong Kong, has long been one of the primary manufacturing bases in the world. After reform and opening-up policies were initiated in the late 1970s, Dongguan experienced a rapid development from a small fishing village to a leading manufacturing city. In 2013, the gross domestic product of the city exceeded 500 billion yuan ($82.5 billion).

Yao Kang, a senior local official, revealed that one 10th of the world's sneakers are produced in Dongguan, about 20 percent of the world wears Dongguan-made sweaters, and 30 percent of the world's children are playing with Dongguan-made toys. World-famous brands, such as Nokia and Samsung, also have plants in the city.

The growth of manufacturing attracted millions of workers from all over China, who in turn ended up fueling the booming prostitution in the city.

The sex trade is not the main source of income in the city, according to Yao, who admitted that it does stigmatize the city and it can only be removed through harsh measures.

After the latest prostitution crackdown, top leaders from four local townships in Dongguan—Humen, Houjie, Huangjiang, and Fenggang—made open apologies on February 16. They admitted that there were loopholes in management policies and said that they will learn from this lesson and perform their duty in fighting crime to their fullest in the future.

Entertainment venues could only open with the approval of police authorities, until the approval procedures were dropped in 2002. In addition, a number of prominent figures were exposed as engaged in the sex trade. For example, CCTV reported that Liang Yaohui, a deputy to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, runs a five-star hotel in Dongguan that is involved in prostitution.

"The government should ponder effective ways to eliminate the root cause of prostitution," said Zhu Lijia, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance. "It is time to find solutions to the problem based on sound institutional arrangements."

"Prostitution has been masked under legal cover in recent years, which has increased the difficulty of crackdowns," said Chen Zhonglin, a law professor at Chongqing University.

There have also been speculations that local police forces may be protecting the sex trade, which is alleged to stimulate consumption and create job opportunities.

1   2   Next  



 
Top Story
-More Expectations
-Spending Appropriately
-Crossing the Cultural Divide
-Finding 'Friends'
-Protecting Consumers
Related Stories
-Sex vs. Power
 
Most Popular
在线翻译
About BEIJINGREVIEW | About beijingreview.com | Rss Feeds | Contact us | Advertising | Subscribe & Service | Make Beijing Review your homepage
Copyright Beijing Review All right reserved