ABSTRACT
A major argument for the making of a specific law to replace all the existing general laws was that the existing laws were unable to manage the child prostitution problem. Children under 18 years of age were then singled out for specific protection against sexual exploitation in prostitution under national laws. An indispensable side effect of the vague and hypocritical prostitution policy is that local laws actually conflicted either with the contents or the spirit of relevant national laws including police offence laws and criminal laws. Relevant national laws concerning prostitution control include the Social Order Maintenance Law, the Criminal Code, and certain provisions in the Juvenile/Child Welfare Laws. There are a number of provisions in the Republic of China Criminal Code which provide penalties for prostitution-related offences. However, these laws leave significant loopholes which, in practice, make it possible for some perpetrators of child prostitution to avoid criminal punishment.
