A nationwide campaign to tackle prostitution in China has succeeded in downgrading a Hilton Hotel because of alleged connections with the sex trade. The hotel was closed down for just over a week in June this year following a raid by police. The local media reported that investigators detained more than 100 people suspected of being involved in a prostitution ring. Among those detained were two policemen.

The Hilton Chongqing was told this week that because of the allegations, the hotel had caused damage to the image of other hotels in China. As a result the National Hotel Ratings Committee announced that the Hilton would be stripped of its status as a five-star establishment.

Because the authorities are still investigating the hotel’s Diamond Dynasty Club and its possible connection with prostitution, a club in the Hilton Chongqing’s basement remains closed. Targeting a major hotel group is unusual for officials investigating the sex trade.

The attempt to clean up China’s sex trade is uncovering specially organised clubs where wealthier members of society go to indulge in sex. They are usually spas and leisure venues, and now apparently hotel chain basements.

The authorities have come under fire recently for allegedly allowing a woman to be tied with a rope and dragged through the streets of Dongguan City in Guangdong Province. The woman was accused of being a prostitute. In Wuhan the police also raised a few eyebrows by publishing a list of people they believed spent some of their time frequenting prostitutes.