Suspected prostitutes forced to walk in public “shame parades”
The Chinese government has called for an end to the public shaming of criminal suspects after increasing public outcry. According to the state-run media, the Ministry of Public Security has called on local officials to enforce laws in a “rational, calm and civilized manner,” rather than parading suspects in public. The new regulations are thought to be in response to the public outcry over recent “shame parades,” in which suspected prostitutes are shackled and forced to walk in public. Police in various cities have also taken to posting photos of suspected prostitutes on the Internet, or publishing the names and addresses of convicted sex workers and those of their clients. Public shaming has been a long tradition in China, and although public executions have been discontinued, provincial cities still hold mass sentencing rallies where convicts wearing confessional placards are driven though the streets in open trucks.