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More sex in China: PDA police and condom confusion
Recently, after pressure from sex workers for protection rights, the government in Taiwan has taken steps toward legalizing prostitution. In six months' time, sex workers in Taiwan will no longer be prosecuted for their trade, and a red-light district may be set up in the capital, Taipei. While it is obviously controversial, we thought we would take a look at the debate for decriminalized prostitution, and what legislation in our neighbor across the strait might mean for us mainlanders.
Taiwan outlawed prostitution 11 years ago, yet The Collective of Sex Workers and Supporters, a Taipei-based advocacy group, estimates that 600,000 people work in sex-related jobs under the guise of 'tea houses' and 'massage parlors'.
Under current law, prostitutes have to pay either a 30,000 TWD fine or spend three days in detention if arrested, while their clients walk away unscathed. The new initiatives in Taiwan would help protect prostitutes from both their customers and the police. One woman told the AFP, "Right now we are helpless when customers don't pay, or even rob or hurt us. I don't like what I do for a living but [...] I just hope the government will protect my safety so I am not always at the mercy of others."
Those in favor of regulating the sex trade add that it acts as a method of preventing sex crimes, as well as educates prostitutes about STDs and practicing safe sex. Legalizing the sex trade, so the argument goes, helps empower women who have very little options in life to begin with, and after all still have rights as human beings.
Of course, there are many objections to legalizing prostitution. Advocacy groups in Taiwan fear giving prostitution the go-ahead condones the exploitation of a woman as an object, and therefore opens an entire Pandora's box of moral and ethical degeneration: prostitution as a legitimate job, increased violence and injustice towards women, rise in human trafficking, money laundering, and so on.
So what does this mean for China? We've posted previously on the plight of the Chinese xiaojie and a certain Shanghaiist editor had the foresight to wonder if China's booming sex industry would ever lead to legalization.
Basically the facts are this: Xiaojies have little recourse in China when something goes wrong, which often happens, and sex worker murders are disturbingly common.
With Taiwan being the latest country to legalize prostitution, we still won't hold our breath on China following suit, but at least we can hope for a shift in mindset makes life a little less rough for those working the red light districts.
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Thanks for posting this. It definitely raises some interesting possibilities for the direction China might decide to take on this issue.
With Taiwan being the latest rogue province to legalize prostitution
/harmonization
I don't see the difference in selling sex or selling drugs. Both are dangerous and lead many problems, health and otherwise. How can one be legal and not the other? Discuss
You're absolutely right; they should legalize drugs next!
grimm: the secret is going for both at the same time.
You can't stop the Sex Business. Better to control it properly, allowing the women to be protected and treated in a dignified way. If you drive it underground, then there are more ways for the women to be exploited.
kudos to taiwan's lawmakers for this pragmatic decision. legalization and regulation is the best way to deal with this. it's a health issue, not a criminal/moral one.
With Holland phasing out the notorious red light district, ya gotta wonder how much promise this new thinking will actually realize.
Well, at least tourism from the Mainland will really pick up...
The reason why Holland is phasing out the red light district is because it is uncompetitive with the thriving sex business in neigboring Germany, where you can have sex in a health spa for 50 Euros with limo pick-ups etc for 3 hours etc. Not only that, the sex business is thriving in other places, like Spain, where many East Europeans work right across the border from France. The Sex business is booming in Europe. It's just that Americans are the Christian equivalent of the Taliban but it is still the biggest producer of porn movies. LOL! Europeans are some of the horniest people around. In Singapore, it is common knowledge that European men, especially German, prefer the Thai Katoeys!
Again with the "LOL" at your own comment. Yawn.
And you seem to be particularly well versed in prostitution and pornography trends throughout the world.
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Yeah, I am horny, but of course you are only interested in boys. LOL!!! BTW, Mainland tourist won't flock to Taiwan to sample the red light district, because sex is cheaper and available on the Mainland. More likely than not, Japanese will be the biggest sex tourists to Taiwan.
LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL!