STATE-SANCTIONED AGGRESSION AND THE CONTROL OF PROSTITUTION IN THE PEOPLES-REPUBLIC-OF-CHINA - A REVIEW

China's openness to the world and the increasing individualization of its population have resulted in a resurgence of prostitution, traffick ing in women, and related sexual offenses. The Chinese government has continuously passed laws and escalated its efforts to control illicit sexual activity, in particular against prostitution and pandering, to the point of ''whore wars.'' Coincident with state-sanctions and conta inment efforts has been a rise in aggressive, and not uncommonly, viol ent, punitive behavior against those who traffick in women and against prostitution as an organized activity. This paper reviews official re ports, news, and case histories in an effort to ascertain legitimizati on of aggressive behavior by the State, and show how the State constru cts such legal rationales in light of China's socialist moral stance. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.