A massive influx of potential customers could easily

mean a year's worth of work for some prostitutes,

many of them from rural backgrounds. Like other

international sporting events, local professionals

will be augmented by enterprising foreign women.

Gorgeous Chinese women: Tang Wei, Joan Chen, Maggie Cheung,
Ziyi Zhang, Gong Li, Zhou Yun, Xu Jinglei & Zhou Xun

China has dodgy laws regarding prostitution. Although technically illegal, it is tolerated, and in many cases with the unofficial patronage of police and officials.

Authorities generally target only pimps and other purveyors, with clients and prostitutes immune from harsh punishment as long as there is no element of exploitation, forced prostitution or underage sexual interaction.

It remains to be seen if such longstanding tactics are "modified" during the Games.

Another challenging dimension is the formidable presence of Chinese organized crime. The infamous Triads, deeply involved in the sex trade, routinely undermine, flout and circumvent all efforts to quell immigration, human trafficking and prostitution.

In the main cities where the Games will be held - Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai - any efforts to prevent or even tame prostitution will prove unmanageable. The confluence of history, economics and human nature - all in a carnivalesque environment - will simply be too much to overcome.

And, in the end, who's to say this is such a bad thing? China has the Games, doesn't it expect the players to show up, too?

Stamp Out Prostitution [Fat Chance]! [Source]

China, as the host of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in August, is beset with Olympic-size challenges as the government tries to assure that the "action" occurs in Beijing's stadiums and not its red-light districts and bars.

The government has thrown down the gauntlet and will do whatever it must to crack down on vice in an effort to present China's best face for the Games.

In terms of stopping prostitution, and its alleged negative effects on society, this may be a laudable endeavor. But on the ground, let's be honest, it's laughable.

It would have been much easier in the bygone era of Mao Zedong. In fact, if the official Communist Party line on China's history is to be believed, after the communists' rise to power in 1949 they completely eradicated prostitution. But Chinese scholars say the regime simply pushed the sex industry underground and out of public view.

"There was no open prostitution 25 years ago," Jing Jun, a sociology and AIDS policy professor at Tsinghua University told the Washington Post in a 2007 article by Maureen Fan titled "Oldest Profession Flourishes in China".

"Fifteen years ago, you didn't find sex workers in remote areas and cities. But now it's prevalent in every city, every county."

According to the same Washington Post article, "Estimates of the number of prostitutes in China vary widely, from 1 million who earn their primary income from sex, to eight or 10 times that, including people who sometimes accept money, gifts or rent in exchange for sex.

"That the numbers have been allowed to increase illustrates the tricky relationship officials have with the ancient profession."

Today, reports from colleagues in mainland China suggest prostitutes are everywhere, and not just of the Chinese variety. Contacts say that of the non-nationals practicing the sex trade, the most prevalent are Russian and Eastern European - and they command higher prices.

An expatriate journalist in Beijing, who wished to remain unnamed, said, "But as far as foreigners go [the sex industry] is largely confined to three [red-light] bar areas: Sanlitun, Hohai and Lidu [in Beijing] staffed almost wholly by Chinese women."

There is no "go-go" action - the kind otherwise infamous in Southeast Asia - as China is more of a freelance operation. As the journalist puts it, "There are 'lady bars' [in the districts mentioned above].

"But the bars are rip-off joints, aimed at tourists. It is a quasi-Japanese hostess-style affair where the man picks a girl, buys her drinks [she earns commission on these], and pays for her time, then pays a lot more if they want sex."

Prostitution occurs in karaoke bars, "beauty salons", massage parlors and by street walkers.

According to reports, all that is needed is a decent command of Mandarin to engage with these women. A foreigner stumbling into these venues uninitiated, or without local language skills, would at best find himself lost, at worst unwelcome.

These sex trades will surely be in full operation during the Games, no matter what measures the authorities enact. There is also no doubt that local venues will try to adapt to capitalize on the lucrative opportunity the Games will present.

The massive influx of potential customers could easily mean a year's worth of work for some prostitutes - many of whom reportedly come from impoverished, rural backgrounds.

As has been the case at other international sporting events, local professionals will be augmented by enterprising foreign women.

The 2006 football World Cup in Germany - where prostitution is technically legal - saw the number of sex workers rise from an estimated 400,000 to more than 700,000 - some estimated as many as 1.2 million.

The "legal guidelines" mandate appears to be Beijing's first salvo in an upcoming battle against such an anticipated influx.

Digital information - specifically mobile phones and the Internet - will also cloud matters for the government. Even the so-called "Great Firewall of China" won't be able to stop working girls from making connections.

In fact, recent reports have shown that Chinese authorities have struggled to adapt their enforcement to deal with even the local sex industry as "in-call/out-call" ladies have turned to technology to cover their tracks.

China has dodgy laws regarding prostitution. Although technically illegal, it is tolerated, and in many cases with the unofficial patronage of police and officials.

Authorities generally target only pimps and other purveyors, with clients and prostitutes immune from harsh punishment as long as there is no element of exploitation, forced prostitution or underage sexual interaction.

It remains to be seen if such longstanding tactics are "modified" during the Games.

Another challenging dimension is the formidable presence of Chinese organized crime. The infamous Triads, deeply involved in the sex trade, routinely undermine, flout and circumvent all efforts to quell immigration, human trafficking and prostitution.

In the main cities where the Games will be held - Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai - any efforts to prevent or even tame prostitution will prove unmanageable.

The confluence of history, economics and human nature - all in a carnivalesque environment - will simply be too much to overcome.

And, in the end, who's to say this is such a bad thing? China has the Games, doesn't it expect the players to show up, too?