Is China Cracking Down On The Gay Lifestyle?

(Beijing) Two men from China's southern province of Guangdong have been sent to prison for allegedly running a gay prostitution agency.

Prostitution in various form is as old as China itself, and is rarely prosecuted, leading international civil rights groups to wonder if the government has begun a new crackdown on gays.

Liu Xianzhi was sentenced to five years and Zhou Deming was given six years by the People's Court of Yuexiu District in Guangzhou city, the Xinhua news agency reports.

Police testified that Liu started up a business named "Dream of Males" in July 2003 offering sexual services to male clients inside an apartment in Guangzhou in collaboration with a third man who is still at large.

Acting on a tip, police detained Liu in July last year.

In the meantime, Zhou also rented an apartment in Guangzhou that he ran as a house of prostitution.

The two men employed more than a dozen male hustlers.

In handing down its sentence the court ruled that both Liu and Zhou disturbed "the good social order and harmed fine social morality" by running prostitution rings.

Gay life in China is mostly closeted. Gay men traditionally marry and lead heterosexual lives. As a result gay houses of prostitution have flourished throughout the country.

The question international rights groups want answered is why make arrests now and are more to follow.

http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/06/0...hinaHustle.htm

This is interesting to say the least, they knew what was happening from what i understand yet only recently decided to act on the information :eek:

Regards,

Lee