English Wire

Police in southwest China's Chongqing raid city's largest gay brothel

BEIJING — Police in southwest China's Chongqing municipality raided the city's largest gay brothel, state media reported Saturday.

In Thursday's sweep of the Blue House Club, officers found records of what they believed to be close to 100 male and female prostitutes, the Chongqing Economic News said on its website.

The newspaper quoted staff as saying the number of regular club members was probably in excess of 300.

A journalist who posed as a job hunter was told he would be required to serve both male and female customers, according to the paper.

Prostitution has emerged as a growth industry during the years of economic reform in China.

The vast majority of brothels are for heterosexuals, although homosexual bars have emerged and are often tacitly accepted by local authorities.

Homosexuality remains a taboo subject for many Chinese, although attitudes have loosened up somewhat in recent years, especially in the cities.