Abuse, most foul

It is a scandal, but more than that, it is an outrage. Teenagers were coerced with threats of violence into having sex with local officials in Xishui county, Southwest China's Guizhou province. Then comes the controversy over what charges the officials should face: the crime of having sex with underage "prostitutes" or that of rape?

While the case against the offenders is yet to proceed further, another scandal has erupted. This involves local village heads and business people in the city of Lishui, Yunnan province, also in the southwest, who allegedly raped 19 high school girls. Immediately after that, the local tax bureau chief in Yibin county of Sichuan province was caught for having paid 6,000 yuan to "buy" sex from a 13-year-old student.

There is enough reason for both online and other media to react strongly when the seven culprits were charged with only the crime of buying sex from girl prostitutes. The argument is that there should be enough reason to charge the officials involved with the crime of rape as the girls were forced to provide sex and because they are not in the business of commercial sex. Moreover, as the exploited girls are under the age of consent, it would be both cruel and perverse to slander them as "prostitutes".