Some commentators labelled Zhuhai a 'national disgrace'

The Chinese media are buzzing with indignation over the alleged orgy involving hundreds of Japanese tourists and Chinese prostitutes in the southern city of Zhuhai.

Many commentators said the incident at a hotel in the city earlier this month had touched a raw nerve, coming as it did on the anniversary of Japan's 1931 invasion of north-east China.

The China Daily said many Chinese were "outraged" not only because of the scale of the incident, but also because they believed the Japanese had chosen this "sensitive time to humiliate the Chinese and tout their wartime behaviour".

A commentary on the regional broadcaster Phoenix TV agreed that the "barbaric" nature of the incident brought to mind the "atrocities of Japanese militarism all over Asia".

But while urging the Japanese to "deeply scrutinise" their actions, it nevertheless warned against blowing the incident up out of proportion.

Media reports acted like a lightning rod for anti-Japanese sentiment South China Morning Post

"After all, this is only the action of individual people, and raising it to a diplomatic level between China and Japan is not necessary," it said.

Sensitivities

Wen Wei Po, a Beijing-backed newspaper in Hong Kong also said the episode had touched a number of "sensitive spots".

It said the main issues that needed addressing were the Japanese "patronising prostitutes in China on a large scale", the timing of the incident, and how to deal with mainland China's sex industry.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post said media reports had "acted like a lightning rod for anti-Japanese sentiment".

And "the fact that the alleged orgy coincided with the anniversary of the 1931 Japanese invasion added fuel to the fire", it said.

Provocation

Please don't mention Japan. It cuts like a knife right into the hearts of the Chinese. Sina.com bulletin board

A bulletin board carried by the popular Chinese news portal, Sina.com, was flooded with comments, many of them damning in their criticism of the Japanese.

"This is a provocation to China," read one message. "It is a denial of history by the new generation of Japanese."

"Please don't mention Japan," pleaded another. "It cuts like a knife right into the hearts of the Chinese".

Others, however, labelled Zhuhai a "national disgrace" and urged the Chinese to do some careful soul-searching.

One contributor said "of course, the Japanese are detestable and worth killing," but questioned whether the Chinese were any better.

Another reflected on the growing sex industry in China and posed the question "How can China be revived?"

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.