Earnest bid to end sex trade

Dongguan, an industrial hub in Guangdong province, has started a three-month long crackdown on prostitution. Dozens of entertainment centers, including some five-star hotels, have been closed, hundreds of sex workers and sex trade organizers arrested, and several local officials pulled up for dereliction of duty.

Prostitution has thrived in Dongguan because it is home to thousands of factories and attracts tens of thousands of migrant workers from across the country and many businesspeople from across the world. According to news reports, Dongguan has approximately "300,000 prostitutes", many of whom operate out of beauty and massage parlors, and escort services.

Prostitution is a serious crime in China. Sex workers could be detained for up to 15 days and fined up to 5,000 yuan, and sex trade organizers could face life in jail. But still the crackdown in Dongguan has taken many by surprise. Some netizens on Weibo, a twitter-like microblogging platform, have posted statements like "Hang in there, Dongguan" and "Don't cry, Dongguan", which sound similar to the encouragement offered to victims of the deadly Wenchuan earthquake in 2008. A few have even called for legalization of prostitution, while others want the government to focus on more important matters such as anti-corruption instead of wasting its time on eradicating prostitution.