Dongguan venues reopen after prostitution crackdown

More than 1,000 entertainment venues in Dongguan, Guangdong province, have reopened after a crackdown on crimes involving prostitution, gambling and drugs that started in February, the Guangzhou-based New Express reported Wednesday.

Some 1,134 entertainment venues, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the closed entertainment venues in Dongguan - including 38 sauna houses, 465 karaoke parlors and 631 foot massage houses - have reopened, according to Dongguan police.

Police in Guangdong province have waged a large-scale crackdown on the sex trade and suspended operations of thousands of venues that violated regulations after a China Central Television (CCTV) exposé revealed widespread prostitution in Dongguan, a city which has long held the reputation of being the "sex capital" of China.

Local police arranged for the business operators of 2,684 entertainment venues to sign a liability statement at a conference in Dongguan on Tuesday, in a bid to urge them to operate legally and stay away from sex trade, said an announcement published on the Dongguan Police website on Wednesday.

The venues must follow rules which state that staff should be registered and managed using a real-name system.

A business license from the administration for industry and commerce and hygiene licence are also required, and beds are forbidden in massage houses.

The announcement reiterated the prostitution is illegal and said that the police would crack down on it with all necessary force.

Recent police investigation found that some venues are still involved in prostitution and drug deals, an official at the Tuesday conference said, adding that some prostitutes did not leave Dongguan but went underground using foot massages as a cover through online platforms.

"I often saw some advertisements and pictures on Wechat and QQ which provide massage services with the girls wearing revealing clothes and the contact numbers," a citizen surnamed Chen in Dongguan told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"Many locals fear that the sex trade may go underground," Chen added.

Police have captured 700 suspects and punished 1,552 people in the crackdown since February.

Twenty-six bosses or shareholders as well as 51 business operators were arrested, according to the police.