Taipei's licensed prostitutes have came under the spotlight once again in the run-up to the March election, as activists are demanding that presidential candidates clarify their policies on the potentially divisive issue.
The demands were made at a press conference held by a group called the Collective of Sex Workers and Supporters (
Also announced at the press conference was the publication of two books -- one a history of the rights movement of licensed prostitutes and the other about the lives of nine licensed prostitutes.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMESN
Activists are also planning to lobby presidential candidates later this month and in early March to get them to state their policy platforms on the issue.
The licensed prostitutes launched a protracted struggle after former Taipei mayor Chen Shui-bian (
Their protests resulted in a two-year grace period issued by the current mayor, Ma Ying-jeou, (
Chou Chia-chun (
Hsia Lin-ching (夏林清), an applied psychology professor from Fujen University, said Taiwan should try to learn from legislation in other countries, including Australia and Holland, and look at the possibility of legalizing the sex industry.
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
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URBAN COMBAT: FIM-92 Stinger shoulder-fired missiles from the US made a rare public appearance during early-morning drills simulating an invasion of the Taipei MRT The ongoing Han Kuang military exercises entered their sixth day yesterday, simulating repelling enemy landings in Penghu County, setting up fortifications in Tainan, laying mines in waters in Kaohsiung and conducting urban combat drills in Taipei. At 5am in Penghu — part of the exercise’s first combat zone — participating units responded to a simulated rapid enemy landing on beaches, combining infantry as well as armored personnel. First Combat Zone Commander Chen Chun-yuan (陳俊源) led the combined armed troops utilizing a variety of weapons systems. Wang Keng-sheng (王鏗勝), the commander in charge of the Penghu Defense Command’s mechanized battalion, said he would give
‘REALISTIC’ APPROACH: The ministry said all the exercises were scenario-based and unscripted to better prepare personnel for real threats and unexpected developments The army’s 21st Artillery Command conducted a short-range air defense drill in Taoyuan yesterday as part of the Han Kuang exercises, using the indigenous Sky Sword II (陸射劍二) missile system for the first time in the exercises. The armed forces have been conducting a series of live-fire and defense drills across multiple regions, simulating responses to a full-scale assault by Chinese forces, the Ministry of National Defense said. The Sky Sword II missile system was rapidly deployed and combat-ready within 15 minutes to defend Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in a simulated attack, the ministry said. A three-person crew completed setup and
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