China's booming sex industry

This is definitely one of the best pods we've seen on China's sex workers so far. Laura Ling of Current TV, goes around China and finds that the sex trade, while virtually non-existent 25 years ago, is now booming everywhere. She also almost got into trouble with some local mafia (which brought back some nasty flashbacks of our own encounters with them a few years ago), but fortunately she got away with it and her tape!

The first question that popped up in our minds after watching this vid was if China's government would someday legalise prostitution. Obviously, the status quo offers the government no way to regulate the industry (and in this case, we do think regulation is very important because at the current rate, things could easily spiral out of control). The decriminalisation of prostitution, will bring with it other benefits, such as aiding in the fight against HIV/AIDS and the protection of women (of course, as always, there are two sides to every coin, so read the below links if you are interested to find out more). We think there is a great chance that the Chinese government, being the pragmatic government that it is, will some day legalise prostitution, as much as it is not in keeping with the Communist spirit. The only question now, of course, is when.

Related link:
Washington Post: Oldest profession flourishes in China
Associated Content: How the Legalization of Prostitution Will Help Women
Mark Liberator: Legalized Prostitution: Regulating the Oldest Profession
Freedom Daily: The Case for Legalized Prostitution