Police told to keep up the fight against vice
Print Edition
The Ministry of Public Security has ordered police to continue their crackdown on prostitution and pornography amid the government’s campaign to promote core socialist values.
As of Monday, police had detained 501 suspects and busted 73 gangs during the crackdown, the ministry said.
In northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, over 4,800 police officers raided more than 2,700 hotels and sauna rooms, checked 1,600 vehicles and investigated 2,700 people.
The crackdown on the industry’s “protective umbrella” is key to the operation, said an official at the provincial political science and law committee, who declined to be named.
The operation was carried out as leaders called for efforts to bolster core socialist values, which include national goals of prosperity, democracy, civility and harmony; social goals of freedom, equality, justice and the rule of law; and individual values of patriotism, dedication, integrity and friendship.
Prostitution has been outlawed in China since the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949. But urbanization, mass migration and the gap between rich and poor have contributed to a booming sex trade.
“The government should consider ways to eliminate the root cause of prostitution,” said Zhu Lijia, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance.
It must find institutional solutions to the problem, as nearly two decades of crackdowns have not stopped the sex trade from growing, Zhu said.
Police have long been suspected of protecting the sex trade, which stimulates local consumption and creates jobs.
In response, the public security ministry on Sunday told police nationwide to severely punish those found guilty of misconduct and malpractice, as well as those who break laws while in charge of enforcement.
The crackdown was launched just hours after a China Central Television program on the sex trade in Dongguan aired on February 9.
Social openness and freedom have increased in the past three decades, which has harmed social morality, said Liu Dongchao, a Marxism professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, referring to online “moral support” for those involved in the Dongguan scandal.
Users of social networking sites defended Dongguan with comments such as: “Dongguan, hang in there!” and “Today we are all Dongguan people.”
This backlash “reflects the conflict between mainstream social values and ridiculous thoughts,” Liu said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
