Experts on Beijing's public-security operations have urged authorities to do more about the influx of foreign sex workers, after the arrest of four foreign women at a downtown club.
Police raided Qixingdao bar in Chaoyang district on July 18 and arrested 15 suspected prostitutes, including the four foreigners, according to a statement by the Public Security Management Corps under the Beijing Public Security Bureau on Tuesday.
Located in the basement of Huasheng International Mansion, an office building close to many embassies, the bar was closed on Tuesday. An employee of a warehouse next door who did not want to be identified said it will stay shut for two months. A sign for the bar, written in Chinese and other languages, still hangs on a wall outside the building.
Ou Yang, a publicity officer for the Public Security Management Corps, said the arrests were part of a citywide campaign that started in April targeting entertainment venues that allow obscene shows or prostitution.
A police officer stationed in Sanlitun, an area popular among foreigners for its bars and restaurants, said his office has assigned three officers to target prostitution since the campaign started. As China has opened its door to the world, the capital has seen an influx of foreign sex workers to the point that it is now a serious problem, said Dai Peng, director of the criminal investigation department at Chinese People's Public Security University.
