Abstract:
This paper examines the developing body of Chinese prostitution law, and the nature
of its implementation, with reference to mainstream media controversy surrounding
the case of a male academic penalized as a buyer of commercial sexual services in late
2004. It argues that the protagonist's highly public 'fall from grace' may owe more to
the Chinese media's new capacity to act as part of a disciplinary apparatus that
extends beyond the purview of the Party-state - via its claim to promote freedom of
information - than the presumed repressive ethos of the Chinese Communist Party.
