Chinese hotel’s ‘links to sex trade’ under spotlight as outrage grows over near-abduction of woman

As public outrage grows over the story of a young woman who claims she was nearly abducted at a business hotel in Beijing as one of its employees looked on, the operations of the hotel have come under the spotlight, including reports of its close links with the sex industry.

The woman, who recounted the incident online using the alias Wanwan, said she was attacked by a man in the corridor of a Yitel hotel in the capital’s 798 Art Zone for about five minutes on Sunday while an employee stood watching but did nothing to help her.

The attack was caught on surveillance camera, but both the hotel and police initially brushed off her claims until her story sparked an outcry online.

The weibo page for “girl attacked at Yitel” hashtag created on Tuesday morning had attracted 1.8 million comments by Wednesday evening.

This led the hotel’s parent company, Home Inns Group, to issue statements and a public apology. The police also promised it would carry out a “thorough investigation” into the matter.

While tens of thousands of internet users have condemned the hotel for its inaction, other bloggers and media organisations are taking a closer look into possible reasons behind the attack.