The dimming of Taipei's red lights

The red lights of Taipei's Snake Alley have been extinguished, and Taipei's 100-year history of licensed prostitution has come to an end.

Although the drive to revoke prostitutes' licenses began with KMT city councilors in 1987, it was actually former Taipei mayor Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) who set the wheels in motion. In an interview with the New York Times given when the controversy was at its height Chen stated that prostitution was only legal in a few countries, and that in the majority of advanced countries it was not.

Chen also said that prostitution must be strictly prohibited if Taipei was to become a progressive city. "We mustn't ignore more than a hundred advanced countries just to follow a minority of twenty or so countries," he said.

This was perhaps a misconception. The so-called advanced countries that ban prostitution are actually in the minority and they include Afghanistan and other Muslim countries. But if one looks at Europe, "uncivilized countries" are everywhere -- including Germany and the Netherlands.

Many who have been to Hamburg will leave with a strong impression of the St. Pauli district. An important city, both economically and culturally, Hamburg is one of the richest municipalities in all of Europe.

Beautiful and bustling by day, the night life of Reeperbahn offers a window on the port city's underground culture. Here, the ubiquitous sex shops and women lining the streets constitute a wonderful spectacle for male visitors, who clamor for a closer look.

The fact that 1.5 million tourists flock to the district annually is proof of the adage, "You haven't been to Hamburg until you've visited Reeperbahn." Admittedly, this is no heaven on earth -- the mafia has ties to the industry and there is a growing drug problem among prostitutes -- but the city government has never tried to terminate its two hundred years of red-light history.

Amsterdam's sex industry is even more developed. In the streets of De Walletjes -- a red-light district that dates back to the Middle Ages -- scantily-clad "shop-window girls" of every shape and size advertise their charms while prospective customers rub shoulders outside.

Elsewhere, advertisements for escorts openly appear in front of five-star hotels. In a city with a population of only 700,000, Amsterdam's sex workers may number as many as 40,000. Add to that the thousands of sex clubs scattered throughout the country, and the number of sex workers becomes too numerous to count. And in response to all of this, apart from prohibiting exploitation from middlemen and child prostitution, the government has adopted a laissez-faire policy.

Neither of these two cities is a den of iniquity. The reason why prostitutes can operate openly is due completely to the pragmatic, tolerant attitude of the government and people.

In the past -- including the Nazi and communist eras -- Europeans strictly forbade prostitution. Now, more and more Europeans accept the notion that the sex trade is a private matter between adults. As long as both parties consent, the state should not interfere.

Prostitution is, after all, the oldest profession. In the people's view, the existence of prostitution has no relation to morality, and thus should not be a source of shame for society.

Using this kind of thinking, Britain's The Economist magazine three years ago made an appeal for the complete legalization of prostitution.