Visitors to Taiwan have often heard of the famed Combat Zone. Long ago when American soldiers came to Taiwan on R and R, they passed their time among the various bars and brothels of the Combat Zone in Taipei. Although World War II and the Pacific War have long since ended, the Combat Zone has remained leaving many to wonder just how legal prostitution is in Taiwan.
Is Prostitution Legal in Taiwan?
The easy answer to this question is no. According to the law, prostitution is not legal. The problem is that there are two different ruling parties in Taiwan, the DDP and the KMT. Both parties have different opinions about the legalities of prostitution. When the parties exchange the presidency, the laws change.
The next issue involves the people and law enforcement of Taiwan. In the west, we take the rule of law extremely seriously. In Taiwan, relationships among people and family tend to be valued higher and they take a more humanistic view towards the law. While we are pragmatists and believe the letter of the law should be followed without exception, they tend to use it on a case by case basis. Busting brothels will not help any of the people involved-or at least that is the attitude. Prostitution will continue whether you try to arrest them or not. Taiwanese businessmen often frequent brothels and hostess clubs when they are conducting business deals. They believe that if you are at a brothel with a client or at a hostess club, you must be pretty close friends and business partners.
Prostitution is not legal in Taiwan, but it does not seem like it will be going away anytime soon. While in Taiwan, I would bike by three different brothels in the five minute bike ride from my house to the kindergarten I worked at. They are not legal, but they do not seem to be going away anytime soon. When law enforcement officials and government officials can be see walking out of the institutions they are supposed to close down, you know that instituting the law will be a difficult process.
Other Problems
Brothels in Taiwan will not be shut down in the near future if current situations remain the same. A better issue to focus on would be the rampant use of mail order brides. Men of marrying age-especially poorer men- are finding that they are without a bride. Taiwanese prefer to have a male child to continue the family line-because of this less girls are born. Some men in Taiwan choose to either import brides from neighboring countries or to go window shopping for them on vacation. These brides are often left without any options other than to remain with their husband or return home to the country they came from. Vietnamese and Filipino brides are currently in high demand because of the cheap cost.
The biggest issue with mail order brides and prostitution in Taiwan is that there are few options to deal with the problems. Although both practices are technically illegal, finding the culprits-or choosing to prosecute them- can be a difficult process. I once asked a Taiwanese friend how many guys frequented the various hostess clubs and brothels. Although this was obviously not a scientific study, he believed roughly half of men would frequent one of these institutions in their lifetime. The law says it is illegal, but it is not feasible to put an entire quarter of your population into prison. Prostitution is a pressing problem that demands attention, but is unlikely to receive any attention in the near future.
Sources
The Unviersity of Rhode Island Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation: Taiwan
Jennings, Ralph ”Pressured by Sex Workers, Taiwan OKs Prostitution”. Reuters, 2009.
