A crackdown on prostitution swept over China in February. The operation， which began in Dongguan， a city in south China’s 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 city’s 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 China’s 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 world’s sneakers are produced in Dongguan， about 20 percent of the world wears Dongguan-made sweaters， and 30 percent of the world’s 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. 　　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 People’s Congress， China’s 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 city’s 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 People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949. But the country’s 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 China’s 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.