Civic groups supporting the decriminalization of prostitution yesterday expressed concern at a public hearing that the government only planned to legalize the sex trade within special zones and planned to introduce more punishments for sex workers caught working outside them.
Advocacy group Collective of Sex Workers and Supporters (COSWAS) chief Chung Chun-chu (鍾君竺) said the Ministry of the Interior proposed during a meeting convened by the Executive Yuan’s Human Rights Protection and Promotion Committee in June not to punish prostitution within red light zones, but to maintain punishments for prostitution taking place elsewhere.
Chung said such a proposal contradicted a previous announcement by Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) that prostitution should be decriminalized.
The Executive Yuan said in June it would decriminalize prostitution, but left the decision to set up red light districts to local governments.
The sex trade is considered illegal in Taiwan under Article 80 of the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), the regulation governing sexual transactions that stipulates detention or the fining of sex workers, rather than their clients.
Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), minister of the Research, Development and Evaluation (RDEC) Commission, who attended the hearing, confirmed the existence of the proposal.
Jiang, however, said the premier favored legalizing prostitution and imposing certain rules on the industry, even if the public remained divided on the matter.
The premier also mentioned that the establishment of red light districts should not be decided via referendums, Jiang said.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS