ABSTRACT
Child prostitution is part of the Chinese Han cultural history. Chinese laws have long prohibited selling children into prostitution, but the practice was tolerated for the survival of poor families. After the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC) in 1911, modern legal reforms were carried out to wipe out ‘bad’ Chinese traditions including the practice of child prostitution. ROC policies have been aimed to show ROC’s determination to become a devoted and ‘good’ member of international society by signing international documents, as well as to achieve modern law reforms by imitating laws from developed countries. The United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child resulted in the first ROC social legislation — the 1973 Child Welfare Law. The Western concept of childhood has also contributed to the social as well as legal construction of children as a separated group. Government-sponsored social educational programmes have since then been organised for aboriginal peoples and school children.
