The government has decided to decriminalize prostitution but will leave the decision to set up red light districts to local governments, an official said yesterday.
The Executive Yuan's Human Rights Protection and Promotion Committee has decided to abolish 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, Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), minister of the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission (RDEC), told a press conference after a committee meeting.
Under the article, sex workers can be detained for a maximum of three days, fined up to NT$30,000 or sent to a correctional institution for a period of between six and 12 months, while customers are not subject to any punishment.
“Two years ago, several members of the committee raised the issue of inequality against sex workers, prompting the government to address the problem,” Jiang said.
At the meeting, the Ministry of the Interior and the RDEC supported the decriminalization of consensual sex between adults, based on academic research on the issue and conclusions drawn from public consultations, Jiang said.
He said that Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) had asked the ministry to propose a draft bill to manage the sex trade and sex workers within six months, saying that the abrogation of Article 80 of the Social Order Maintenance Act would only take effect when new regulations are in place.
During the transition period between now and the decriminalization of the sex trade, the government will adopt temporary measures to reduce the possibility of sex workers being punished, he said.
One of the measures will be that police officers will no longer be able to receive bonus points on their performance evaluation for arresting violators of Article 80, he said.
In response to the ministry's suggestion that red light districts should be established to better manage the sex trade, Liu was quoted by Executive Yuan Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) as saying that he would leave the decision to local governments.
Liu said that red light districts could be established in a county or city as long as the local government obtained approval from the local council.
Whether prostitution would be allowed if it takes place outside a red light district would depend on the provisions of a new management act, Jiang said.
Also included on the agenda of yesterday's meeting was the government's position on the amendment to the Assembly and Parade Law (集會遊行法), which failed to clear the legislature in the just-concluded session because of several controversial articles branded as regressive by activists.
The amendment stipulates that organizers must register their activities in advance instead of obtaining permission from police beforehand as stipulated in the current law. Activists criticized the proposal as being too strict.
Jiang quoted Liu as saying that small-scale protests should be exempted from the registration system.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
RSS