Many local governments wasted no time in vetoing plans to create legally designated sex-trade zones in their jurisdictions after a proposed amendment aimed at allowing such a move was approved by the Executive Yuan on Thursday.
Under the proposal, sexual transactions conducted in such designated zones would not result in any legal penalties for those involved.
However, any such trade outside the designated areas would be subject to a maximum fine of NT$30,000 (US$1,039), according to the proposed amendment.
According to Taipei City spokesman Chang Chi-chiang (張其強), Taipei is “too crowded” to consider offering such services, noting that the legalization of the sex trade remains a highly controversial subject.
Meanwhile, Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) was quoted by local media as saying that he plans to turn Tainan into a clean city and that the establishment of additional brothels is out of the question.
Greater Kaohsiung, Greater Taichung and New Taipei City (新北市) governments also rejected the idea, saying that they currently have no plans to set up sex-trade zones. The proposal, yet to be approved by the Legislative Yuan, was introduced after the Constitutional Court scrapped a much-criticized regulation that punished only prostitutes while letting their clients go free.
The Ministry of the Interior, (MOI) which drafted the bill has said that a majority of people are in favor of conditionally legalizing the sex industry to ensure it is better regulated.
The ministry dropped an earlier plan to allow small-scale brothels without zoning because monitoring them would be too difficult.
Director of the ministry’s civil affairs department Liu Wen-shih (劉文仕) said even if designated zones were approved, operators would not be allowed to advertise their business in any form.
Taiwan has 11 legal brothels and 49 registered sex workers aged between 30 and 60 in Yilan, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Penghu County.
The largest brothel, located in Taoyuan City, has 11 sex workers who service an average of 200 customers per month, bringing in revenue of up to NT$200,000, according to Liu.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP
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