A map of Taichung depicting locations frequented by illegal sex workers, which has gone viral online, is not a joke, but rather a reflection of the city’s unbalanced development and the entrenched nature of the sex industry, Taichung city councilors said yesterday.
The area showed in the “Map of the Happiness Economy” spans several streets near Taichung Park, and features a red line tracing a route marked with landmarks, including hotels and shops, as well as the different types of illegal sex workers found in each zone.
Some locals have dubbed the areas surrounding the park as the “old-timers’ zone,” but its unique social ecosystem has changed due to shifting demographics, with younger sex workers and women from Southeast Asia, online commenters said.
Photo courtesy of a member of the public
A self-claimed “seasoned veteran” wrote online that the map was “actually pretty spot-on,” while another person commented that “this is more detailed than any tourist map.”
Some said that such information cannot be entirely accurate, as illegal sex workers often only gather in certain areas temporarily before moving elsewhere.
Other commenters said the “map” had sociological significance, as it documented a different facet of urban life in the city’s hidden corners.
Illegal sex workers operating around Taichung Park is the result of the city government’s long-term neglect of the Central District’s (中區) Old Town (舊城) area, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taichung City Councilor Huang Shou-ta (黃守達) said.
The area, once vibrant with mixed-use residential and commercial buildings, has declined, creating blighted areas, he said.
The lack of comprehensive redevelopment planning and urban renewal has allowed sex workers to gather on the streets, leading to the map that is being ridiculed by the public, Huang said.
Police crackdowns are a temporary fix, while the real solution requires regional revitalization in the Old Town area, he said.
The “map” highlights the long-unresolved issues of Taichung’s sex industry, which the city government has consistently failed to effectively address, allowing the problem to spread and the city’s image to be tarnished, DPP Taichung City Councilor Chen Yu-jung (陳俞融) said.
Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen’s (盧秀燕) administration must take public safety and management issues seriously, integrate police and social welfare resources, and propose concrete solutions for improvement, to protect Taichung’s reputation, Chen said.
The city must show its determination to rectify the problem, rather than letting it fester and making Taichung a laughingstock, she said.
Taichung Police Department’s First Precinct said that in August last year, it launched a program to reduce the number of illegal sex workers who linger near Guangfu Road and Pingdeng Street.
The program combines law enforcement with environmental improvement methods, and has reduced by 41 percent the average number of illegal street walkers identified during nighttime patrols, it said.
Foot patrols, vehicle patrols and stationary surveillance are deployed daily from morning until late at night to continuously inspect, disperse and arrest illegal sex workers and their customers, it added.
Notices in Chinese, English and Thai have also been posted throughout the surrounding area to clearly communicate the legal consequences of engaging in criminal activity, the police said.
The city government said it has installed 77 surveillance cameras in and around the park, allowing for dual-track monitoring by police and the city’s Construction Bureau to eliminate illicit activities and improper conduct.
Streetlights are also gradually being replaced or upgraded to eliminate dark areas that attract illegal sex workers and their customers, it said.
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