ABSTRACT
The legal regulation of child prostitution has evolved dramatically from its discovery by the Christian humanitarians to legislative recognition as a result of lobbying by law and order pressure groups. Under the vague Republic of China (ROC) prostitution policy which has created legal loopholes for diverse forms of illegal prostitution to flourish and multiply, the application of the Criminal Code has been extremely restricted. Although the ROC prostitution control policy was never strengthened to respond to underage prostitution problems, the welfare approach towards the family and its children has incidentally tightened around the sexual exploitation chain involving abusive parents and flesh trade operators. Under the ‘short-term regulation and long-term abolition’ policy, prostitution became legally regulated under the ‘Regulations Governing Prostitution’. The message given during the reading of the Social Order Maintenance Law seemed to have suggested that the ROC legal policy on prostitution has been based on a recognition of the social need to tolerate its practice.
