Prostitution thrives as officials say one thing and do another
It's not the 'oldest profession' for nothing - the sex trade not only provides income to millions, its clients include the powerful
The word in the corridors of Chinese officialdom is that there are "some things you can do but never say and some things you can say but never do".
Prostitution belongs to the former. It is officially illegal on the mainland but prospers nonetheless in every part of the country.
In all cities and towns, large and small, prostitutes loiter around nightclubs, bars, karaoke rooms and massage parlours. Out on the street, skimpily dressed women are a common sight, sitting in the windows of hair salons and openly offering sexual services.
Even in the nation's political epicentre on Beijing's Changan Avenue, sex services are available in hotels and entertainment venues.
In economic terms, prostitution is a major industry in the same league as medicine and education, providing millions of jobs for its workers as well as services to its many more customers. That's why any development about it is news. It's no surprise, then, that a Xinhua report about the resumption of the sex trade in the Guangdong city of Dongguan last week made headlines nationwide.
Just five months after China Central Television ignited a large-scale crackdown with a report on Guangdong's "Sin City", Dongguan appears to be back in the world's oldest business. Global Times reported that some 1,134 entertainment venues, or nearly 70 per cent of those closed in the southern city during the crackdown, had reopened. That comprised 38 saunas, 465 karaoke parlours and 631 foot-massage centres. China Daily put the proportion at 80 per cent.
The news was enough to prompt state-run media to analyse whether Dongguan's municipal government was truly committed to the crackdown.