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Q: Why is the crackdown on porn and prostitution so rough here?
Porn on the internet is banned, porn webmasters are executed, lots of busting up of prostitution rings (at least where I live in Shenzhen), etc.
Some of it I agree with, but other stuff I think is a little extreme.
Is this really a government priority? A sincere belief that it will bring moral decay to Chinese society, or is it a facade to look good and make it appear as if everything is pure and dandy in the country?
Also, what do we risk, as foreigners, if our internet activity reveals we've been watching or downloading 'yellow movies'?
Facade. Showing off on crackdowns is just like most of the laws here. It's just to provide a good appearance from the outside. It is twisted to be suit the needs and desires of those in power (big well known places of the night are able to go unbothered as long as the right people are making money from it).
As far as a foreigner at risk. They're not going to waste their time on you as long as you arn't downloading so much that it looks humanly impossible to be just for personal use.
It is possible that they could use something like this as their "reason" for taking care of you because of something else you did.
Porn and prostitution have always being label as the decay of democracy, and thus at totalitary political institutions "prohibited". But not really as a sincere desire to stop moral decay, instead as more of a "propaganda" tool than anything else.
Walk along a few particular streets in any city in China and you will see, or will be propositionad by some "Ladies of the night". Or visit some barber shops, massage parlors or even some KTV, and witness some of the action going on. Yet, we do hear that there is no prostitution here.
As far as you downloading "yellow movies", that is something you should evaluate and decide. It could be some risk, maybe you will bring attention to yourself, and if ever they need a guinea pig to make up a show, they could choose you. But if done by you in private, and not comercialized at all, the risk will be minor. Even on net cafes there are employees walking the floor to insure no one is watching porn. My advise, if you have that particular need, get a VPN service to blank your computer ID in order to surf those websites.
But I am in China, and I want to stay in China. So, I took the time to find out what are "NO-NO's" here, and I do take no chances, I just do not do any of them. With my luck, I will be the only guy caught and deported. But that is me.
Shining_brow:
Be aware though, that being caught using a VPN would get you in deeper doo-doo than downloading/viewing porn...
DaBen:
Happy, you go to nice net cafes. The cheap places I use to spend the night when traveling alone have about a third of the people in there after midnight watch porn and no one say a word.
Pornography and prostitution are considered to be detrimental to the development of a harmonious society.
China knows they will never "defeat" this, but every few years they do crackdowns (especially on protitutes) to keep them in check. It's more about appearance than the actuality of what is going on. If it's not readily apparent and common, well, you can argue that it doesn't exist.
Places will close and vanish for a few months then magically reopen, albeit more hidden at first, then gradually emerge to the forefront, then they will be shut down. I've seen this cycle a good 4 or 5 times over the past 8 years. It also happens with internet sites.
Keep in mind that any of those "red-light" places and the such often bribe police to operate, so they only shut them down when the gov't says they HAVE to for whatever reason. The owners and police are more than happy to have their arrangements and the customers keep coming. Again, it's an issue of "harmonious perception" rather than any legal issue.
