Ma backs off promise to rid Taipei of prostitution

The Herculean task of driving the sex industry out of Taipei is proving an impossible feat for Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

Last month, Ma promised to rid the city of prostitution within three months -- a goal and deadline many critics said would be impossible to meet.

Now, in the month since launching his crackdown on prostitution -- in particular, going after police officers with ties to the sex industry -- Ma appears ready to concede that sex for hire is here to stay.

"The ultimate goal of the intensive police crackdown is not to drive out the sex industry, but to smoke out unworthy policemen," Ma said yesterday.

On Oct. 17, Ma, embarrassed by a string of allegations that Taipei police ran call-girl rings or had detained prostitutes in an effort to extort money from their managers, promised to "drive out the sex industry."

Asked whether his comments yesterday were an attempt to get out of his promise, Ma denied that he was trying to do so.

"I know it's impossible to eliminate the sex industry within such a short period of time," Ma said. "What matters is that the public feels the city is determined to do so."

In the month since the promise, barber shops that have never cut a lock of hair continue to flourish, as do massage parlors that offer "special services" and tea houses where more than just the drinks are spicy.

Many critics say that Ma should have expected failure, given the impossible goal of stamping out prostitution overnight.

"The fight against the sex industry is similar to that of terrorism: It's a complicated and long-term battle," said Ku Chung-hwa (顧忠華), a professor of sociology at National Chengchi University. "In other words, it's impossible to eliminate a centuries-old industry within a short period of time."

Ku said that although he agrees with Ma's determination to drive out the sex industry, the city's aggressive crackdown has not been well planned.

"The decision was made to save the city's face following a series of arrests of municipal policemen on extortion charges," he said. "It's not surprising to see the plan fall flat."

In addition to academics, municipal officials also questioned whether the crackdown is merited.

Jeng Tsuen-chyi (鄭村棋), director of Bureau of Labor Affairs, said the city's efforts infringe upon the human rights of sex workers.

"Sex workers are entitled to exactly the same rights as any hard-working manual laborers," Jeng said.

Others question the tactic of rustling hotel guests out of bed at all hours of the night on searches for patrons that might be sleeping with paid company.

Lung Ying-tai (龍應台), the director of the Bureau of Cultural Affairs, said the hotel and motel raids constitute an invasion of privacy.

"There's nothing wrong with police enforcing the law, but the way they carry it out is questionable," she said.

The director of the Taipei City Police Headquarters also questioned whether the crackdown will be effective. Wang Cho-chun (王卓鈞) has said on numerous occasions that he's not worried that he'll be forced to step down if the crackdown fails to achieve its purpose.

"I'll leave the decision up to the mayor," Wang said yesterday after a weekly public security meeting. "Until then, I'll just do my best to try to reach the goal."

As of Thursday the city had detained 680 people suspected of being involved in the sex trade, Wang said.