China’s government told police across the country to get tough on prostitution, gambling and drugs following an expose in the “sin city” of Dongguan, where a crackdown on prostitution led to the detention of nearly 1,000 people this month.
The announcement, on the Ministry of Public Security‘s official website late on Monday, said investigations had begun in several provinces, and police had broken up 73 vice rings and closed down 2410 prostitution and gambling dens over the past week.
China outlawed prostitution after the Communist revolution in 1949, but it returned with a vengeance following landmark economic reforms three decades ago, and has helped fuel a rise in HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Gambling is also banned in China with the exception of heavily regulated state-sanctioned lotteries.
While periodic sweeps against vice have been carried out, it has thrived. Law enforcement is often lax.
In a warning to what the authorities call the “protective umbrella” of official collusion, the ministry said officials would be “seriously investigated, and crimes will be resolutely investigated in accordance with the law”.
via China tells police to go nationwide with vice crackdown | Reuters.
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