New | Hainan coverup as Sanya cracks down on nude sunbathers

Police in the resort city of Sanya on Hainan island have stepped up their efforts to crack down on nude sunbathing and swimming on the public beaches after the leader of the province waded into the campaign.

The communist party chief of Hainan province condemned nude sunbathing as “un-Chinese, anti-tradition and uncivilised” after it was banned on one of the province’s beaches last week.

“No normal person would swim or sunbathe naked in public,” Luo Baoming said on Sunday at the second meeting of the Hainan People’s Congress.

“This kind of behaviour is not consistent with China’s cultural traditions.”

Offenders could be detained for between five and 10 days, depending on the seriousness of the offence, Xinhua reported on Sunday, quoting Sanya police. Local police have started patrolling the beaches round-the-clock, with the assistance of loudspeakers to dissuade nudists and surveillance cameras to record evidence for potential detention, according to the report.

Luo said nudism corrupted public morals and Chinese culture, and that the province wouldn’t allow this “uncivilised” behaviour. He said authorities should advise against nudism and those who did not listen should be removed from the area.

Xinhua, citing Hainan authorities, said people who refused to be dissuaded despite the police patrols, loudspeakers and cameras would receive “education through detention”.