Editor's note: As China launches another harsh crackdown on the sex trade in Dongguan city in South China's Guangdong province, "Dongguan" is becoming a trending word and topic on the Internet, and some experts even say the crackdown may hurt the city's economy. 

Governmental moves 

920 suspects snared in China prostitution crackdown

A total of 920 suspects had been apprehended as of Wednesday in a crackdown on the illegal sex trade in South China's Guangdong province

Crackdown on 'protective umbrella'

The Ministry of Public Security said in a statement that there will be a crackdown on organizers, operators and the "protective umbrella" of the sex trade in the city

Guangdong slams underground prostitution industry

Authorities in Guangdong province are set to launch a three-month crackdown on the sex industry across the province.

Earlier crackdown on prostitution

Cracking down on prostitution in Dongguan is not new.

In 2004, Guangdong province launched a two-month crackdown on prostitution. During the campaign, Dongguan and Shenzhen were listed as the main targeted areas.

In 2010, the Dongguan Public Security Bureau deployed a series of anti-prostitution campaigns throughout the year.

In 2012, Dongguan launched another campaign against prostitution, which closed about 220 entertainment venues.

After China Central Television reported on the rampant sex trade in Dongguan, , the local police launched a crackdown on suspected entertainment venues and arrested 67 persons for further investigation.

Dongguan bids to clean up its act - again

On Sunday, the Ministry of Public Security and police in Guangdong announced an anti-prostitution crackdown in five Dongguan townships.

Bizarre aftermath

Many computer viruses and malicious software appeared on the Internet with names like "videos of lap dancing in Dongguan," after CCTV showed the eye-grabbing obscene videos in reports slamming the rampant sex trade in the city.

"Hi, I'm your friend XXX, please send money......" Many people received such mobile phone messages from unfamiliar phone numbers that asked for money, claiming the message sender was caught in the Dongguan prostitution crackdown.

CCTV dislikes

Many web users are criticizing CCTV's blazing publicity on Dongguan's prostitution industry for it neglected other more acute social problems and "put the weak group in danger." A well-renowned Sina Weibo blogger, Wuyue Sanren, said the way CCTV reported it -- by broadcasting prostitutes' erotic dancing -- is not in line with professional ethics.

Hang in there, Dongguan!

Newspaper Southern Metropolis Daily official account announced their opinions on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like microblogging platform. They are not happy with the secret investigation by Central China Television. They believe the inside story behind the prostitution industry should be more focused rather than one that simply exposes the prostitutes.

Baidu' s 8-hour population flow map 

Dongguan as a "World Shop" 

Brief introduction on Dongguan 

Dongguan is a prefecture-level city in South China's Guangdong province, which is located in the Pearl River Delta, neighboring Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The city is 47 nautical miles from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and 48 nautical miles from Macao. [More]

If not considered "Sin City," Dongguan is supposed to be labeled as "World Shop." Enjoying a favorable location in the heart of the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan is a manufacturing and trade hub and also a center of a cheap labor force.
Dongguan 'remains processing trade hub'
Processors urged to follow Dongguan's example 

Experts' view 

Some experts believe that Dongguan's economy is doomed to suffer heavily since the business climate is at a disadvantage after this crackdown on the sex trade industry. 

Lin Jiang, chairman of the finance and tax department of the Lingnan College at Zhongshan University, believes this severe crackdown on Dongguan's sex industry is positive proof that industrial transformation in Dongguan still has a way to go, according to the news site qq.com.

Yang Delong, China Southern Asset Management Co's chief strategist, said in the short run the anti-prostitution crackdown will affect local consumption and concept stocks may drop. But in the long run, the effects are relatively small, according to the website guancha.cn.

Sun Guoxiang, professor of the School of Law at Nanjing University, said prostitution is against the mainstream values of our society, so this move is meaningful in terms of lifting general mood and ethic of society. Thus it is wrong to blindly pay attention to economic influence, according to Netease, a Chinese news portal.