State media China Central Television's (CCTV) report on the flourishing sex industry in China’s manufacturing hub Dongguan City has triggered mockery and ridicule on Chinese social media.

The 25-minute report video details the city’s rampant prostitution. Using concealed cameras, the report showed women lining up for selection by customers in hotels and karaoke bars known as KTVs, and accused local police of ignoring prostitution and allowing the industry to thrive.

After the report, a 6,000-strong force reportedly raided 12 hotels and entertainment venues, leading to 67 arrests.

Dongguan is well-known as a hub for the sex industry, with 10 percent of the population said to be employed in the industry.

The CCTV report was widely watched across China and generated large amounts of comments on social media. On microblogging website Sina Weibo, “Dong Guan” became the most researched word on February 9, 2014. Many online celebrities and netizens wrote that they thought CCTV was reporting an open secret, some even mocking that it serves as a good tourism ad for the city. Others worried that the report is only targeting vulnerable people.

Screenshot of CCTV's report on Dongguan's prostitution (from YouTube)

Tencent news commentator “Liu Yanwei” wrote [zh]:

中国比这类事情重要得多的新闻，从来不见央视记者正经去报道。

There is much more important news to report about in China, I’ve never seen the CCTV reporters reporting it.

Online celebrity “Wuyue Sanren” [zh] commented:

做小姐的是这个社会的弱势群体，我哪怕要曝光此事，也只会找背后的原因，不会用猎奇的手法拍下她们跳艳舞的镜头哗众取宠。一个掌控着巨大媒体资源的机构，它的使命绝对不该是如此做新闻。在你们拍下她们的艳舞之时，难道不明白这是让自己的职业蒙羞、跳了一场精神上的脱衣舞么?

Sex workers are vulnerable in this society, so even if I plan to expose the industry, I will only investigate the reasons behind it. I will not try to attract an audience and gain popularity by shooting them dancing. A huge organization of abundant media resources shouldn’t report the news this way. When you shoot them dancing, do you not understand that you’re embarrassing your own profession and doing a spiritual strip yourself?

“Miracledemocracy” analyzed the stories behind the prostitution:

今天看了央视东莞扫黄的新闻，挺难受的。感想如下：1，可以好好过日子谁也不想成小姐，中国贫富差距过大。2，中国社会有选择性生育以及天天加快经济改革建设，导致男多女少以及很多人背井离乡。3，这是一个上层社会制定制度的错误与结果，却让底层人民买单

Today after watching the CCTV report, I feel very uncomfortable. Thoughts as follows: 1) Who wants to be a prostitute if they can live a good life, there’s such a huge gap between the rich and the poor. 2) Chinese society’s imbalanced gender ratio at birth; the economic reforms and construction forced many people to leave their own homes. 3) This is a mistake caused by the system made by upper society, but the people at the bottom have to pay for it.

 “Zhongguo Zuozhuan” echoed the same sentiment:

官僚社会的逼迫迫使很多人走上了这条路 反过来官僚们又假装正义对其打击。。。。。我们更需要的是扫除贪官健全体制而不是官僚人渣的假正经！

The bureaucratic society forced many people to embark on this path, on the contrary, the bureaucrats pretend to show justice by attacking these people. . . . . We need a sound system to eliminate corruption rather than fake justice!

Journalist Liu Xiangnan wrote:

在东莞事件里，我最鄙视央视的一点是，暗访时对那些女孩不打马赛克，警方今晚抓嫖的新闻里对被抓的那些女孩仍旧不打马赛克。这是无视人权与人的尊严!

I despise CCTV for not pixelating the girls in the report during their unannounced visits, same with tonight’s news about the police crackdown on the prostitutes. This is disregard for human rights and human dignity!