China wouldn't be China without the officious slogans that plaster every other wall and railing, educating citizens on the latest government policy or crackdown. But the banners and billboards that began appearing in March all over Shuangfeng, a rural county in central China's Hunan province, bore exhortations more curious than most. "Let all of society take action! Let's engage in a people's war against blackmailing activities using fake obscene pictures," read one. Another urged: "Crack down on the crime of extortion using fabricated obscene photos." What lies behind these unusual party directives? Proficiency in Photoshop, apparently. Starting in 2011, a number of Shuangfeng residents began supplementing their income by using the popular software to create fake intercourse photos featuring local officials and businessmen. The images were then sent to those purportedly involved in a crude blackmail scheme, according to government prosecutors. In mid-March, police arrested eight suspects from four gangs that were accused of trying to raise $7.35 million through doctored pornography. Since last year, 37 suspects have been arrested in connection with 127 such extortion cases, according to local media. On its website, the Shuangfeng police department published a list of blackmail suspects still at large. (MORE: Communist Party Officials Gone Wild: intercourse-Tape Scandal Rocks China) China's systemic corruption, currently the target of a crackdown by new leader Xi Jinping, is often tied to intercourseual scandal. In recent months, numerous Chinese officials have been targeted in online show-and-shame campaigns that usually involve images — apparently genuine — of errant cadres in various stages of undress, accompanied by women other than their wives. A survey conducted by Renmin University in January found that 95% of the corrupt officials caught in 2012 maintained mistresses. In a celebrated case last November, Lei Zhengfu, a district-level official in the sprawling southwestern metropolis of Chongqing, was shown having intercourse with then 18-year-old Zhao Hongxia in a video uploaded by a local journalist. The footage, which captured an encounter five years before, went viral. Zhao later admitted that she was paid by a local contractor(http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&blog=19871253&post=84924&subd=timeglobalspin&ref=&feed=1)
Via: TIME GlobalSpin