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Sex trade expose likely signals wider probe into graft
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A CRACKDOWN on prostitution is sweeping Dongguan’s sex paradise in southern China’s Guangdong Province.
The police’s new get-tough policy was triggered by an expose on Sunday from China Central Television (CCTV).
Despite the apparent righteousness of its revelations, the broadcaster has been blasted by many people for “meddling” and not doing its proper job.
By “doing its proper job,” critics mean genuine investigative reporting — muckraking in the best sense — going after corrupt and unscrupulous officials and pursuing cases of egregious injustice. Zeroing in on prostitution is trivial, insignificant and a typically “penny wise, pound foolish” measure, some critics say.
Besides, there have been myriad reports and anecdotes about Dongguan’s steamy reputation as a sex capital.
CCTV’s story is neither news nor especially sensational.
Indeed, that sex services have become one of Dongguan’s name cards, albeit a very unsavory one, is already an open secret.
Public response
Actually, public ire at CCTV’s expose is largely inspired by perceived lost opportunities to pursue higher-value targets. Due to the political protection it enjoys, CCTV should have devoted more energy to covering topics like corruption, land misappropriation and counterfeit products — it need not fear retribution. But it seldom does, and fails to live up to what should be its mission, CCTV-bashers say.
Another reason for the criticism heaped on CCTV lies in the nature of its reports, which many find priggish and staid.
Is CCTV really being meddlesome or is it just doing its job?
The reason many people, mostly men, root for decadent Dongguan is that it satisfies the basic sexual needs of vast numbers of migrant workers in the manufacturing hub as well as more exotic tastes. Many don’t wish to see the end of the sleazy sex paradise.
But what if CCTV’s probe not only shone light on the famous sex emporium but also unearthed murky business, scandals and serious transgressions? Is it still being meddlesome?
CCTV’s political clout naturally fuels speculation that the high-profile expose may be a harbinger of the supreme authority’s plan to expand the anti-graft drive into entertainment, a hotbed for prostitution.
What distinguishes CCTV’s report from past journalism on the booming sex business in Dongguan is that CCTV’s carries explicit political overtones.
In the crackdown, hotels were raided, arrests were made, and a handful of policemen were suspended for complicity and taking payoffs to look the other way. Hu Chunhua, the provincial Party chief, talked tough. Any officials who protected sex trade operators will be punished, he said. The Ministry of Public Security made similar promises and dispatched investigators to Dongguan.
Apart from punishing the protectors, the key point of the crackdown would be to shine a light on corruption in the sex trade, worth up to 50 billion yuan (US$8.3 billion) a year, according to some estimates. Palms were almost certainly greased so that authorities ignored the elephant in the room.
Media’s proper role
As the Beijing News opined on Tuesday, inordinate attention to arrested sex workers only panders to crass, unsophisticated tastes while distracting us from lesser-known problems such as sex offered as bribes and violent crime in the sex industry.
The crackdown in Dongguan isn’t only about fighting prostitution per se, but signals that the nationwide anti-corruption campaign is increasingly full-blown and aggressive.
In the past, ombudsmen mostly acted on tip-offs received from whistleblowers, but now they are taking the fight to where corruption festers — the sex industry and corruption often go hand in hand.
As such, critics who say CCTV isn’t doing its “proper job” have missed the point themselves.
Some commentators support Dongguan’s red-light districts, arguing, with some justification, that prostitution helps to curb rapes and sexual assaults.
But they seem to forget that many women and teenage girls are coerced into the trade, rather than join it of their own volition. The exploitative industry breeds evils such as human trafficking, drug abuse, organized crime and political patronage.
We have been more tolerant of things we used to regard as immoral. Instead of repugnance, the mention of Dongguan and its “standardized services” too often piques the imagination and fantasies of a pheromone-filled safari. Following the backlash against CCTV, it’s time for us to consider the cruelty, depravity and corruption behind the racket.
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