Entertainment venues reopen in Dongguan after crackdown

Nearly 70 percent of the entertainment venues closed by police in the southern Chinese city of Dongguan as part of a crackdown on prostitution have been allowed to reopen, local authorities said on Wednesday.

The reopened venues include 631 foot massage centers, 465 karaoke bars and 38 saunas, said Li Dehe, an official with the city's public security department.

On Tuesday, the local police met with managers and operators of 2,684 venues to update them on the campaign, asking them to sign a statement to clarify who should take responsibility in the case of illegal management.

The campaign followed media exposure in February of prostitution in Dongguan.

Police have captured 700 suspects and punished 1,552 people involved in illegal acts. Twenty-six venue owners or shareholders and 51 managers have been arrested since February, Li said.

Responding to accusations that the police have softened the crackdown and are turning a blind eye to prostitution, he said, "They are wrong. The police will never allow rampant illegal acts to recur."