From Overseas Press

Beijing crackdown may have deeper meaning

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-05-17 13:55

Beijing crackdown may have deeper meaning

Beijing authorities showed their determination in the anti-prostitution campaign by cracking down on 35 local entertainment venues, including the infamous Passion Club, which is a well-known pleasure house popular among the rich and the powerful, said an article on zaobao.com on May 15.

It is believed that the open crackdown on the Passion Club is an important political signal, showing China's plan to completely wipe out moral corruption.

An insider quoted by Beijing media disclosed that all the hostesses at the Passion Club are holders of college diplomas or above. Among them, many who provide "escort services" are postgraduates from some famous art colleges.

The 20-year-old pleasure house is located in the western vice building of Beijing Chang Cheng Hotel. It is very famous among Chinese middle- and high-level officials and businessmen. Some Beijing media pointed out that the Passion Club has been an open secret for a long time. But why the crackdown now? It may be more than just an anti-prostitution campaign.

Some linked the cleaning up with Chongqing's anti-gang activity, in which a large number of clubs and underground casinos protected by local police were closed down, and those involved officers were sentenced. The open crackdown on the Passion Club, which was thought to be immune from such action, was "absolutely the most vital issue in the history of China's entertainment industry. It's like a magnitude-10 earthquake in the corruption industry and has meaning of epic proportions."