Sex Workers Unite!
We Want Our Right to Work!

On September 6, 1997, Taipei City Council and Taipei City Mayor Chen Shui-bian joined hands in revoking the licenses of the last-remaining 128 legal prostitutes of Taipei who had been operating in prostitute houses sanctioned by previous regimes for the past 40 years. Overnight, the 128 sex workers became targets of police arrest, surveillance and harassment; whereas before, they had been the only prostitutes able to take recourse to the police and demand legal protection in case of client harassment and abuse. In addition, these prostitutes, because of their legal status, are the only sex workers who are regularly examined for possible AIDS infection and other venereal diseases. According to government report, none of them have been found to be HIV-positive for the last five years since the health bureau instituted such regular check-ups-- which certainly goes to showthe success of disease-prevention programs for sex workers when the programs are positively supported and carefully executed by the government. The same cannot be said for the thousands of illegal prostitutes in Taiwan, who have been under great danger of infection because of their illegal status and their lack of protection.

The Taipei City Government had been planning to phase out legal sex work by not giving out new licenses; it is estimated that within the next two decades, legal prostitution would have "died out naturally" in Taipei city. Yet, in order to show its determination in the recent governmental anti-obscenity campaign, the mayor willfully decided to implement the inhumane measure of declaring illegal the work of these 128 women, most of whom are semi-literate single mothers in their mid-forties, many of whom are supporting extended and poor families. The city government has promised temporary subsidies for these prostitutes, but the latter refuse to accept charity funds from the government. "We can work for our living, let us do that" they say. Furthermore, governmental subsidy funds come with stringent conditions which not all the women involved can meet. It also demands that these women stay away from hotels, bars and all such places for the duration of the subsidy funding to avoid all suspicions of continued sex work. These 128 women have in effect been placed under house arrest.

Since they learned of the government ban, these sex workers have formed a group to protest the forceful removal of their right to work. Several labor-oriented women's activist groups have worked closely with them to struggle against the arbitrary decision of the ruling power elite. Jointly the women organized several panel discussions, amidst a traditionally discriminatory culture, to call attention to their plight. On Septermber 6th, the sex workers and labor women's activists went to the city government to plead for a meeting with the mayor in order to personally express their grievances. The city government replied with a line of police, barring the entrance to the building; the stand-off later exploded into a scuffle between the police and the middle-aged sex workers, leaving quite a few women bruised and hurt. On September 11th, the protesting group returned to the city government to demand a public debate with policy makers of the city. Again, they were met by police. In desperation, the sex workers opted to plead for a two-year grace period, instead of the reinstitution of their right to work as prostitutes. A public forum was held, demanding that the city government respond. Again there was only indifference on the part of the government. September 14th, pressed by loan sharks and the hardships of life, one prostitute attempted suicide. Fortunately she was saved in time. The mayor, upon inquiries issued by a sympathizing press member, replied coldly, "This has nothing to do with me. Take it up with the city council or the police."

Time and again, the mayor had turned a deaf ear to the pleas of the sex workers while upholding his willful decision to eradicate all so-called obscenities, in an effort to win the support of the morally righteous middle-class while leaving lower-class women out to dry. The ex-legal prostitutes have been without work and under police surveillance for more than a month now, but they are still struggling for recognition and restitution. We urge you to sign your name in support of these 128 middle-aged lower-class prostitutes, their right to work, and their right to decide what to do with their bodies. We urge you to support their demand for a two-year grace period, which is now being discussed at the city council meeting. Your signature will certainly add to the pressure. Please forward this message to all concerned.

In the long-run, we work toward making all sex work decriminalized, safe and protected. In order to push for that goal, we are now planning for a world-wide scale conference on sex work and AIDS prevention to be held late 1998 in Taipei. If you are interested in coming, please e-mail us with your name, organization, possible topics that you would be interested in discussing, and anything else that you would like to add. We need your support and suggestions in our fight to ensure women's right to their bodies and their life.