Shanghai municipal government will hold a public hearing before any barber shop, beauty salon, bathhouse or massage parlor is allowed to open in an effort to cut down on prostitution.

The hearings, which will start in the middle of this month, will include local residents as well as police officers, environmental protection officials, and members of the Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau.

Everyone at the hearings will be welcome to express their opinions on the need for a new beauty salon or massage parlor, said Chen Yun, an official with the Social Security Administrative Office of the Shanghai Political and Legislative Committee.

If the majority of residents and other officials are opposed to the opening of a new beauty salon, officials won't grant a business license.

Hairdressing salons are a large threat to public security in residential communities as they are growing in number quickly and many are engaged in illegal activities, such as prostitution, said Zhang Haifeng, director of the Wanli Police Station in Putuo District.

He said it is difficult and time- consuming to gather enough evidence to shut down those offering illegal services.

His officers have been engaged in a vigorous campaign against beauty salons offering illegal services in the main residential areas for the past several years. In 2001, Wanli area was home to 53 beauty salons, but 40 have since been shut down for offering illicit services.

"We hope the new hearing system will take some of the pressure off us to solve the problem," said Zhang.

(Shanghai Daily September 1, 2006)