Zhang Lijia looks deeply into China’s massive underground sex industry. During the talk, she will explain how she gained insight into the prostitution business which she describes in Lotus, a novel inspired by her grandma who was a former prostitute. Lotus tells the story of a young migrant-worker-turned-prostitute as she carves out a life for herself in Shenzhen, China’s ‘City of Sins’.
In addition to some fascinating and colorful anecdotes, Lijia will discuss China’s deeply-flawed current legal system tasked with managing social problems such as ‘custody and education’, similar to the notorious ‘laogai’; how working girls are often brutally treated; the broad social issues that have led to the spectacular rise of China’s sex industry and the growing gender inequality in the reform era.
Join us for a lively discussion with Chinese female writer and journalist Zhang Lijia.
