The Collective of Sex Workers and Supporters (COSWAS) yesterday rallied outside the Taipei City Council building to raise awareness about the rights of prostitutes, saying that the Taipei City Government disassociating itself from the recent controversy surrounding EasyCards bearing the image of Japanese porn actress Yui Hatano reflects the local governments’ indifference toward an amendment passed in 2011 regarding the legalization of prostitution.
The demonstrators prepared stick-on EasyCard covers featuring an image of late prostitute rights activists Lee-chun (麗君) wagging her middle finger, with the slogan The prostitutes’ spirit: no compromise.
Protesters distributed the cards to city government officials who attended a council session, including EasyCard general manager Tai Chi-chuan (戴季全), who authorized the production of the controversial Hatano EasyCards.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Protesters said the picture, taken by Playboy magazine in 1999 when it interviewed Lee-chun, was to protest then-Taipei mayor Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) outlawing of licensed prostitution in Taipei and had become a symbol for their prostitutes’ rights campaign.
COSWAS secretary Hsiao Yi-ting (蕭怡婷) said that EasyCard issued the controversial cards to boost sales among men, but since the controversy surfaced, the city government had shirked its responsibility by claiming that it had not been involved in the making of the cards.
This attitude shows that there is no way for unlicensed prostitutes to make a living in Taiwan, she said.
COSWAS secretary Kuo Pei-yu (郭姵妤) said the legislature passed an amendment to the Social Order Maintenance Act in 2011 (社會秩序維護法), which sees both prostitutes and clients in prostitution cases punished.
The amendment also included “special permission” by which local governments can delimit “special prostitution zones” in which prostitution is legal. However, no local governments have set up such zones since the amendment was passed, she said.
At the demonstration, an unlicensed prostitute identified as Cola (可樂) said the police frequently carry out inspections at her workplace causing her to suffer financially, adding that one of her colleagues is having difficulty covering her father’s medical bills, which she said is about NT$50,000 per month.
She said that prostitutes are not so different from Hatano, as they all work in the sex industry and since the city embraced Hatano, it should also legalize prostitution.
The demonstrators also raised awareness about a possible demolition of the historic Wenmeng Building (文萌樓), a former brothel in the city’s Datong District (大同) dating back to the nation’s Japanese colonial period, which the group uses to house its headquarters and a private sex industry museum it runs and provides lodging for former licensed prostitutes.
Kuo said that a group of construction companies have expressed an interest in buying the plot, which would result in the group being evicted.
She said her group has launched an online poll to gauge public opinion on funding a project to help the group buy the plot from its owner so that the building can be preserved.
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