Beijing - The offer is prompt: 'Sex?' asks the prostitute as
she approaches the two foreign tourists from a side street in
Beijing's Sanlitun entertainment district.
'How much?' asks one of the foreigners, slightly taken aback. '500
yuan' comes the reply with a charming smile. That's about 75 dollars.
'For the two of you together.'
The attractive Chinese, in her late 20s or early 30s, looks self-
confident and experienced. She takes one of the foreigners' hand and
doesn't let go. 'Come on.' Back to the hotel? Her place? 'Whatever.'
Those who watch over the morality of Beijing's nightlife may have
closed down some of the dingier bars in a pre-Olympics 'purge', but
the oldest profession is alive and well - only, not as open.
Normally every foreigner getting out of a taxi at the entrance to
the street full of bars in Sanlitun is bombarded with offers of 'lady
bar', 'massage' or 'sex' from the girls and their pimps.
During the Olympics, business has been swept into the sidestreets
and clubs. The red light district is not quite as sinful as normal,
but it's still far from innocent.
Isn't she afraid to be out on the street alone? Isn't there
someone protecting her? 'I work alone,' says the girl. '300 yuan,'
she adds, quickly lowering the price.
But aren't the police especially strict during the Olympics? asks
the foreigner. 'They only bother about the Chinese, not you
foreigners,' she says, still not letting go of the hand.
Just 20 metres away stand two soldiers guarding the entrance of
the diplomatic compound. They look on but do nothing. Their job is to
stand guard, not stop prostitution.
Masses of football fans throng the street with the bars after
Argentina's 3-0 defeat of Brazil in the football semi-final at the
nearby Workers' Stadium.
Bands play in the clubs, beer bottles clink at the doors, the fans
chant and shout. A big, broad foreign bouncer blocks the entrance to
the China Doll club, ordering the rich and beautiful back into an
orderly queue.
'200 yuan, please,' says a friendly Chinese woman at the cash desk
- 30 dollars - for the men to get in. At the weekend the price can go
up to 500 yuan. Attractive women get in for free.
Also allowed in free as Olympic medal-winners, and there have been
quite a few sightings of them, too. Many of the guests also wear one
of the Olympic family ID tags. And the music throbs.
Girls in short, turquoise-and-black dresses serve Qingdao beer
for 50 yuan (7.5 dollars) - prices only the affluent night-clubbers
can afford, or their expensive girlfriends, or the mistresses of
wealthy Chinese all too aware of their market value.
In fact, prostitution is illegal in China. The girls - and their
customers - face being sent to re-education camps. Occasionally the
police will detain foreigners for a few days if they are caught in
raids on brothels or massage salons.
However, the big danger is not from the police - who often look
the other way - but from AIDS. After the disease was ignored for a
dangerously long time, ignorance and a frequent change of partners
have meant a strong increase in the number of people infected.
'Where's the Suzie Wong?' asks an Olympic tourist seeking the
expensive bar by Chaoyang Park with more than its share of attractive
women.
'You chat up three and score with one,' laughs an insider. 'Semi-
professionals', perhaps - beauties with a daytime job financing their
Gucci handbags and designer outfits. Or perhaps looking for the big
catch - a rich Chinese or foreigner.
It's a dangerous game. Today there are an estimated 700,000
Chinese infected with AIDS, and it would be an achievement if this
were only to double in the next two years. UN estimates say the
number could rise to several million.
It's why several hundred thousand free condoms have been provided
for the more than 10,000 athletes in the Olympic Village and guests
in Beijing's hotels.
Every second infection in Beijing today can be traced to
unprotected sex. There is little 'playing safe' in the Chinese
capital, where a growing number of foreign students and business
people are also becoming infected after a careless 'adventure'.
'I get more and more of these cases,' says a doctor at one of the
city's clinics for foreigners.
USA
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