The time is 2:58pm, Nov. 8, 2001. The place: a motel in Wanhua District.
A slender and nicely dressed young woman enters a non-descript hotel room, as an older lady outside the door hands her a condom.
"How's the service?" a man asks the older lady. "You'll be satisfied," she replies.
The older woman closes the door and is seen no more. The two strangers strike up a conversation.
"Where are you from?" asked the man. "Shanghai," she said.
"How long have you been here?"
"This is my seventh day [in Taiwan]," she answered.
Silence.
"How much did you spend to get here?" he asked.
"NT$250,000."
"Did you come here alone?" "No, I came with three girlfriends," she said. "Why don't you take a shower first?"
"OK," he replied.
After the man entered the bathroom, she swiftly stripped down to her underwear -- high-cut red underpants and bra.
This scenario is not from a pornographic movie nor a racy stage play -- it is the grubbier side of life playing out on a video tape secretly recorded by the customer.
After showing the video to the media yesterday morning at the city council, DPP City councilor Wang Po-yi (
"I'm very curious to know when Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is going to give us a clean and prostitution-free city as he promised?" he said.
Statistics show that Wanhua District has seen the highest number of police raids among the city's 12 districts over the past month, followed by Chungshan, Ta-an and Tatung districts.
The prices charged by prostitutes from China also vary among Taiwan's cities, Wang said.
"While it costs between NT$4,000 and NT$6,000 per 40- minute session in Taipei, prices in Taichung City are NT$2,000 to NT$3,500 and from NT$2,000 to NT$3,000 in Kaohsiung City," he said. "However, despite Taipei's efforts, scenes like the one depicted on the tape are still all too common."
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