South Korea's so-called fashion police, who patrolled the streets in the 1970s carrying rulers and measuring the length of women's skirts, will soon officially be taken out of the country's laws.
Showing too much skin in public places will no longer be classed as indecent exposure and will be deleted from the Minor Offenses Act, the National Police Agency has said.
The law has not been enforced for many years, and a police agency spokesman who was quoted by the Korea Times said it was one of several out-of-date rules which would be removed. During the 1970s women could be arrested or fined if their skirts were too short.
PHOTOS: AFP
The miniskirt rule dates back to the military dictatorship of the 1970s. During the same period the fashion police could also stop men on the street if they considered their hair to be too long. The fashion police could perform a haircut on the spot, or fine or even jail offenders.
South Korea became a democracy in 1987 and most of the authoritarian restrictions under the Minor Offenses Act have been scrapped since then.
New offenses are still added to the Minor Offenses Act. However these reflect current issues in South Korean society. The majority of the newly listed offenses under the act this year covered smoking in places where smoking is not allowed. (AFP)
南韓法律中所謂的「流行警察」很快就會走入歷史。流行警察是在一九七○年代巡邏街頭、拿著尺丈量女性裙長的警察。
南韓國家警察廳表示,在公共場合露出太多肌膚不再被歸為不雅暴露,將會從「輕微違法」法條中刪除。
這個法規已多年未被執行,《韓國時報》引述警察廳一位發言人的話指出,這是應該廢除的好幾條不何時宜的法規之一。一九七○年代,女性穿著的裙子過短會遭逮捕,或被處以罰緩。
迷你裙條款可以追溯到一九七○年代的軍事獨裁。同一段時期,流行警察也可以在路上攔下頭髮過長的男子。流行警察可以當場剪髮,或讓違法者罰款或坐牢。
南韓在一九八七年成為民主國家,「輕微違法法案」大多數的獨裁限制都被廢除。
「輕微違法法案」仍有新增違法條款。不過這些新法都反映南韓社會現今的議題。今年新增的違法條款中,還包括在禁止吸菸場所吸菸的條款。 (法新社/翻譯:賴美君)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
A: As well as Eid al-Fitr, Southeast Asia is celebrating the Water Festival this week. B: And this year, Thailand is expanding the celebration between April 12 and 16 for the event, officially known as the Songkran Festival, expecting to make 24.3 billion Thai baht in tourism revenue. A: Does Taiwan celebrate the Water Festival? B: Some local cities and counties do have similar activities. A: Let’s go experience the festival then. A: 除了「開齋節」外,東南亞「潑水節」本週也盛大登場! B: 泰國今年從4月12日到16日擴大「宋干節」連假,預估觀光收入可高達243億泰銖。 A: 台灣會慶祝「潑水節」嗎? B: 有些縣市會舉辦類似活動。 A: 那我們也去體驗一下吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)