One woman went further than most for what she passionately believes in - she became a "prostitute" to highlight the plight of sex workers and the issue of safe sex. It's about speaking out about what's right.
She speaks in rapid Mandarin, occasionally switching to English, and frequently punctuates her conversation with booming laughter. Ms Ye, 37, a divorcee with a teenage daughter, declares: "I must be the first person who dares to openly acknowledge that I was a sex worker.
Crazy enough, she adds, to volunteer as a "prostitute" for nearly three days, offering free sex for migrant workers in Ten Yuan Brothel, in Wuhan in Hubei province. It's a move, she says mockingly, that has "raised eyebrows among the common folk and the ire of the authorities".
Ms Ye wanted to create awareness of the predicament of sex workers by offering a first-hand perspective of their lives. Her bold experiment has made her a global sensation. Her story has been featured in international media, including The Economist. The woman who calls herself "Hooligan Yan" says adamantly: "My name is synonymous with the word 'hooker'. I just believe in speaking up against the injustice on behalf of a group that has been oppressed for so long. She was also fed up with being arrested three times just because she "advocated the legalisation of prostitution".
She explains why she offered free sex: "Since I wasn't charging a fee, I didn't have to worry about being charged for prostitution. In January, just before Chinese New Year, she offered free sex to four men, aged between 18 and 50 in Wuhan, about 17 hours drive away from her home in Yulin. She had been gung-ho about it at first.
