Selling or buying sex is illegal in China. But the punishments meted out by police vary in different parts of the country. Sometimes, offenders are locked up for a couple of days or are fined. Some could end up facing both penalties.

To rule out such discrepancies in law enforcement, police authorities in east China's Jiangsu Province have come up with a set of guidelines on how to handle prostitution and related cases.

Lenient penalties of no more than five days' detention or a maximum fine of 500 yuan (US$62.5) have been suggested for first-time offenders and those forced into prostitution by poverty.

But this "poverty clause" has proven controversial, with debates raging in the mass media and on the Internet. Those supporting the proposal were delighted to see an element of compassion introduced to criminal law enforcement, while opponents question the malleability of the law.

But it's pretty safe to assume that most of us would agree that a society is best governed by a balanced combination of law and compassion.

Criminal law enforcement is perhaps the only area designed purposefully by the government to inflict pain on offenders. The severity of the punishment has to match the seriousness of the crime, regardless of an offender's sex, race or socio-economic status. That is to say that if a society wishes to have lasting stability, it has to ensure that all are equal before its laws. Being rich or poor should not make any difference. Only an equal and full application of criminal law can deter crime, the ultimate goal that criminal law enforcement is meant to achieve.

Technically speaking, the "poverty clause" doesn't seem practical. What exactly is the "poverty line" that will qualify sex workers for such lenient treatment? If there is one, is it uniform? Prostitutes flock to Jiangsu from all over the country and there is a wide gap in the household incomes of not only people living in urban and rural areas, but also between those in east China's coastal region and those in the underdeveloped western region. In addition, which government agency is authoritative enough to substantiate an offender's poverty claim? Until all of these questions and many more are given proper answers, such a scheme could be open to abuse.

A society without the rule of law is bound to descend into chaos. But a society without compassion is also unpalatable. Apart from law enforcement, there are plenty of ways people can empathize with the disadvantaged and marginalized.

Let's take a look at how an outreach group in Shanghai works to protect the health of the city's sex workers.

Based on the understanding that a police crackdown on prostitution will not stop the spread of AIDS and venereal diseases, and would only drive this unsavoury trade deeper underground, disease-control workers in Changning District, Shanghai, have tried a different approach help instead of hunt.

Under a "peer education" programme launched in April, the outreach group invited representatives from more than 1,000 barbers' shops many of which operate as fronts for brothels to attend lectures on AIDS and venereal diseases. They were also taught the correct way to use a condom and urged never to accept requests for condom-free sex. They are then expected to spread this information among their peers. The programme has had a difficult start, as prostitutes are hard to reach and tend to shy away from the authorities. It took off in earnest only after they realized that the group was indeed there to help, instead of hunting them down.

Women are forced to sell their bodies for different reasons. Poverty and unemployment are just two of them. An iron-fisted approach alone is not going to wipe out prostitution. For that, the government needs to involve the entire community in joint efforts to protect prostitutes' rights and give them opportunities.

A "harmonious society" can only exist when both law and compassion are upheld.

(China Daily June 9, 2006)