China protests over tourist 'orgy'
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Reports say as many as 500 local prostitutes were involved in the orgy.
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(CNN) -- China has summoned a Japanese diplomat to express its "strong indignation" over an alleged mass orgy at a hotel in the southern city of Zhuhai.
During the meeting Monday a foreign ministry official described the incident involving some 400 Japanese and up to 500 local prostitutes as an "abominable" act, the state-run People's Daily reported.
The official told the Japanese envoy, neither of whom was named, that the orgy had hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and severely damaged Japan's international reputation.
For his part the Japanese official expressed regret over the incident and agreed that tourists visiting China should abide by Chinese laws, the People's Daily said.
Prostitution is illegal in mainland China, but has become increasingly commonplace as a side-effect of China's economic reforms.
Chinese police say they have arrested several suspects over the alleged orgy and were planning a full investigation of the affair. (Arrests)
They have also ordered the five-star hotel in Zhuhai where the alleged orgy took place to suspend business pending the outcome of their investigation.
Chinese Internet bulletin boards have been simmering with furious comments from users over the case, many accusing the tourists of timing the orgy to coincide with a wartime anniversary as a way of humiliating China.
The orgy reportedly ended on September 18, the 72nd anniversary of the invasion of northeastern China by the Japanese imperial army.
The case, which has been front page news for several days in China, has added further to already strained relations over the two countries' wartime past.
Last month China issued a formal diplomatic protest after a Chinese man died and several others were injured by abandoned Japanese chemical weapons unearthed in the northeast of the country
