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| Night view of Ximending |
One
evening I was walking with an Austrian friend of mine in Ximending, one of
the busiest shopping streets in Taipei. Ximending, which has its
origins in the Japanese colonial era, was the first pedestrian zone in
Taiwan and has become a meeting point especially for young people.
Every
now and then my friend looked around with a somewhat shocked expression.
“What's
wrong?” I asked him.
“Look
at those girls,” he said. “They're dressed like hookers.”
He
was surprised when I explained him that many of those girls were
indeed hookers.
“I
thought prostitution was illegal in Taiwan,” he remarked.
“It
is,” I said. “However, a lot of young girls come here and offer their
services to men.They want to earn some money. It is a strictly 'private' transaction. It's hard for the police to find out.”
Ximending
has often been described as the Harajuku or Shibuya of Taipei. Famous
for its fashion and (often Japanese-style) subculture it is a place
that throbs with life, especially at night. It's one of the few areas
in Taipei where you can see a street art culture like in London or
Berlin. It is popular with young people. And it has one of the highest
crime rates of the city. It is, in fact, the centre of Taiwan's
prostitution industry and the illegal activities related to it.
Ximending
has always been a peculiar place in the rather prude capital. In the
1950s it became known for its so-called
紅包場
or
“Red envelope bars”. In Chinese culture “red envelopes” are
used to put money in as a gift for children and, when children grow up
and earn money, as a gift for their parents. After the end of the Chinese
Civil War and the establishment of the temporary government of the
Republic of China on Taiwanese soil, mainland soldiers frequented
karaoke bars in Ximending. However, listening to the beautiful
singers' performances wasn't enough for them. They began asking for
“extra” services by giving the girls or the owners of the bars
“red envelopes” with cash. Soon those bars turned into a hub of
illegal prostitution and remained so until the 90s.
Traditions
don't die easily. With prostitution banned, other forms of sex
services arouse, fostered by the unlimited opportunities offered by
the internet. The last innovation to appear on Taipei's sex scene has been imported from Japan. It is enjo kosai.
Enjo kosai means “compensated dating”. In Chinese it's called “援助交際”
(yuan2zhu4jiao1ji4),
which means “intercourse aid”. A compensated date is the practice
of paying girls to have a date with them. This might involve sex or
not, depending on whether both parties consent to it after meeting
each other. Most of the times it is elder men who request such
services, but there are also many young guys who are thrilled by the
perspective of dating a beautiful girl, hoping that something more
might happen than just going out and drinking a coffee or tea.
I
have a friend who works as a yuanjiaomei, a dating girl, in Ximending. She is a
19-year-old college student. The reason why she began doing that job
is that she didn't have enough money to buy brand clothes and a smartphone. She joined several
websites and began “hooking up” men online. This system is
definitely safer than traditional prostitution.
First of all, she
doesn't have a pimp – and everyone knows that pimps might not
always be the nicest guys in the world. Therefore, she has absolute
control over how she trades with her body. Second, it is a date,
which means that the man and the girl don't have sex immediately but
usually meet in a neutral place, such as a coffee shop or a
department store. At any stage of the date both parties can withdraw
from the deal. If the man doesn't like the girl he can just talk to
her for a few minutes and then leave. If the girl doesn't like the
man, she can refuse to go with him.
Even if she likes him enough to go and have dinner or a drink with him, it
doesn't mean she has to have sex. She does it only if she
wants to. Of course, going out with strangers can always turn out to
be a dangerous enterprise. In 2008, for instance, a 16-year-old
yuanjiaomei from Hong Kong, Wong Ka-mui, was dismembered and her body
parts were dumped in the sea by a man she had dated for cash. A terrifying story.
Is enjo kosai therefore a bad thing that society should condemn? Many people hastily come to the conclusion that it's because of increasing materialism or family issues that
girls retort to compensated dating. As far as underage girls are
concerned, I definitely agree that this phenomenon should be stopped.
But what if a girl over 18?
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| Night view of Ximending |
Well,
my friend is happy with what she does. She has some extra money every
month, and she doesn't feel filthy, as some puritans might assume.
In
my view, as long as you are not compelled to do anything you don't want, selling
your body is nothing exceptional.
What do you think? Please leave a comment below if you want to.
I am quite interested in this phenomenon, that's why I am currently writing a book about it.
I wish all of you a nice day. Please comment and subscribe!
Yumiko
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