In order to dive into the world of rural sex workers so as to better understand and to speak up for them, Liumang Yan decided to become a prostitute for a day last week. To be more exact, she didn't exactly prostitute herself -- she offered sexual services free of charge to migrant workers. Along the way, she posted updates on Sina and Tencent Weibo, telling her followers about the hardships faced by the women she met, and the men she served. more ›

Netizens beware! Posting salacious content on your blog could land you with a warning from the police, with the added bonus of the great firewall of china snaking its way around your site. A Shanghai blogger, surnamed Guan, has been warned by the police for 'spreading rumours' online, after a price list of mistresses from local colleges was posted. more ›

In what's thought to be the first of its kind in the country, a small group of women have asked onlookers in Wuhan to end discrimination against sex workers by scrapping anti-prostitution laws and stopping the current sex industry crackdown. more ›

There's a lot of articles out there on China's female sex workers, but what about the males? Xing Zhao of CNNGo has an amazing piece about Shanghai Leyi, an NGO that provides support to male sex workers in the city. The group assists between 2000 to 3000 male sex workers (of the estimated 1 million to 10 million in China) per year, ensuring they have access to health care and protection. "We just want to create a better environment for sex workers,” says Zheng Huang, the founder of the NGO. “They’re still people, they have rights.” more ›

Think "sex trade" and chances are male and transvestite sex workers rarely come to mind, though they're just as physically and legally at risk as their female counterparts. To rectify this, CNNGo brings attention to Shanghai Leyi, an organization dedicated to creating a better environment for male and transvestite sex workers. They provide everything from legal training and medical services, to advice on STDs and HIV prevention and free condoms. Founded in 2004, it's a young organization that has thankfully thrived, collaborating with UNAIDS to establish the China Sex Worker Organization Network Forum, and expanding its services to solo female sex workers working the streets, another vulnerable group paid little attention to by aid organizations. more ›

To start off our Holiday Superlatives extravaganza, let's take a good look here at home first. Wonder what Shanghaiist readers were flipping through this year? Here are the top five most looked at stories from January to June of 2009. more ›

Back when we first heard the story of ladies-of-the-night feeding drugged candy to expat men in order to steal their things, we squealed in schadenfreudetastic glee. Little did we know that there was an even more salacious twist yet to come: The ladies were actually men! more ›

Recently, after pressure from sex workers for protection rights, the government in Taiwan has taken steps toward legalizing prostitution. In six months' time, sex workers in Taiwan will no longer be prosecuted for their trade, and a red-light district may be set up in the capital, Taipei. While it is obviously controversial, we thought we would take a look at the debate for decriminalized prostitution, and what legislation in our neighbor across the strait might mean for us mainlanders. more ›

This goes down as one of the best pieces of news we heard all day: China is going to continue its more progressive bent towards AIDS/HIV awareness and has started a bunch of educational campaigns to inform higher risk groups - including sex workers, who don't have any legal standing in the country despite their prevalence. more ›

• Obama accepts invitations to visit China, Russia [AP] "President Barack Obama has accepted an invitation to visit China later this year. The White House said Wednesday that Obama has accepted an invitation from President Hu Jintao. Obama and Hu met in London ahead of the G20 economic summit."
• Chinese Inmates at Guantánamo Pose a Dilemma [NYTimes] "Mr. Hassan, an intense former college professor, is among some 300 exiles from western China’s Uighur Muslim minority who live peacefully in the Washington area, where the American government has supported their pro-democracy efforts. But while the United States is hosting Mr. Hassan and the others, it has been imprisoning 17 of their countrymen in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba."
• SARFT Tightens Grip on Online Videos [JLM Pacific Epoch] "The State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT) issued new regulations for audio-visual content broadcast online and via mobile Internet on March 30. Under the new rules, all films, TV series, cartoons and documentaries transmitted through Internet media must first obtain offline broadcasting licenses."

In lieu of Women's Day, China Crossroads is highlighting women's issues in China including: women in the workplace, migrant women, reproductive health and sex workers. more ›