Eradicating The Sex Trade

By+Yuan+Yuan

A crackdown on prostitution swept over China in February. The operation， which began in Dongguan， a city in south Chinas Guangdong Province known for its rampant sex service industry， came following an exposéby 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 citys 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 Chinas 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 worlds sneakers are produced in Dongguan， about 20 percent of the world wears Dongguan-made sweaters， and 30 percent of the worlds 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.endprint

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 Peoples Congress， Chinas 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.

On February 13， Yan Xiaokang， Vice Mayor of Dongguan and head of the citys Public Security Bureau， was removed from his post for dereliction of duty. Local deputy police head Lu Weiqi and several other officials were sacked.

On February 16， the MPS told police all over the country that it will severely punish those who are found guilty of misconduct and malpractice in prostitution crackdowns， as well as those who break laws while in charge of enforcement.

“No matter who is involved， no matter how high their positions， all must be investigated to the end， with absolutely no tolerance，” said the ministry.

Controversy

Prostitution has been outlawed in China since the Peoples Republic of China was founded in 1949. But the countrys sex trade has still gained ground in the past three decades.

The first case of prostitution that was officially recorded since the outlawing was in 1976 in Hangzhou， east Chinas Zhejiang Province. In 1979， similar cases were reported in Shanghai and Guangzhou， capital of Guangdong. In 1980， the MPS instigated a large-scale prostitution crackdown. The first nationwide raid was launched in 1989， with similar operations having been conducted almost annually since then. In addition， more than 60 laws and regulations aimed at wiping out prostitution were promulgated between 1981 and 2007.endprint

Statistics from the MPS showed that police apprehended 19，000 suspects and broke up 6，323 pornography-related gangs in 2013 alone， resulting in 12，000 cases being solved.

“These deeds have shown the governments firm stance against prostitution， which is a source of instability in society，” said Wang Hongjun， an official from Peoples Public Security University of China.

However， a number of social networking website users expressed sympathy for Dongguans prostitution industry after the recent crackdown， posting comments such as“Dongguan， hang in there！” and “Today we are all Dongguan people.”

Some argued that prostitution is based on“market demand” and is “beneficial，” and called for sex work to be legalized.” Such widespread online backlash against CCTV reflects the conflict between mainstream social values and negative thoughts，” said Liu Dongchao， a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance.

On December 23， 2013， the General Office of the CPC Central Committee issued a detailed guideline on bolstering core socialist values to realize the Chinese dream of national renewal.

According to the guideline， core socialist values include the national goals of prosperity， democracy， civility， and harmony； the social goals of freedom， equality， justice and the rule of law； and the individual values of patriotism， dedication， integrity and friendship.

President Xi Jinping on February 17 called for greater efforts to promote such values and set up a value system with Chinese characteristics in line with the modern era. The ongoing prostitution and pornography crackdown is considered to echo Xis call.

“Those who think prostitution and pornography are not newsworthy have been misled. Both the government and society need to realize the seriousness of the problem，” said Fang Jundong， secretary of the Communist Youth League of China Committee of South China University of Technology in Guangzhou.

Social openness and freedom have increased over the past three decades， accompanied by excessive liberalism， which has harmed social morality， said Liu with the Chinese Academy of Governance， referring to online “support” for those involved in the Dongguan scandal.

An article carried by Peoples Daily asserted that prostitution unquestionably crosses the moral line of personal freedom and is bound to involve social corruption， human trafficking and organized crime， adding that intervention of public power in the business is an international practice.endprint