501 held in country’s sex trade crackdown
Print Edition
Chinese police have captured 501 suspects and busted 73 gangs during a crackdown on prostitution and pornography, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
More than 1,300 cases of organizing, luring or introducing sex services had been uncovered by police since February 9, and 2,410 locations involved in prostitution or pornography had their businesses closed down, the ministry said yesterday.
The locations refer to hotels, karaoke bars and saunas.
The large-scale crackdown began hours after a China Central Television program on February 9 revealed that hotels in the southern city of Dongguan were offering sex services.
Yan Xiaokang, vice mayor of Dongguan and head of the city’s public security bureau, has been removed from his post for dereliction of duty.
An unidentified official with the ministry said public security organs at different levels should learn lessons from the Dongguan case and carry out a “persistent” and “deepened” crackdown on crimes involving prostitution. The official asked them to focus on organizers, operators and the “protective umbrella” of the sex trade.
The ministry reiterated its stance on prostitution, saying that leaders of public security organs will be held accountable if they are found to be in dereliction of duty.
Statistics from the ministry showed that last year police arrested 19,000 suspects and broke up 6,323 pornography-related gangs, with 12,000 cases being solved.
The nationwide crackdown was ordered following the CCTV expose of Dongguan amid criticism authorities long turned a blind eye.
The ministry on Sunday demanded the “swift adoption of firm measures, to resolutely correct and seriously investigate and deal with” the problem.
“No matter who is involved, no matter how high their position, all must be resolutely investigated to the end, with absolutely no tolerance and no softness,” it added.
Several provinces in the country have mounted large-scale campaigns against prostitution and the sex trade.
Last Thursday, 100 sex-work suspects were detained in Nantong in the eastern province of Jiangsu, as were 79 in a raid on prostitution and gambling venues in Leiyang in central China.
Prostitution is illegal in China but an estimated 2.7 million to 6 million sex workers operate from establishments including karaoke bars, hair salons, saunas and massage parlours.
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