From Sexual Servitude to Military Service

Women in Taiwan's Military - You've Come a Long Way Baby!

Sep 24, 2023

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24 September 2023 (Sunday); Updated on 30 September 2023.

From Sexual Servitude to Military Service

Women in Taiwan's Military - You’ve Come a Long Way Baby!

By Wendell Minnick (Whiskey Mike) 顏文德

TAIPEI – There was a time not long ago in Taiwan that women were second class citizens.

During the Cold War, the Taiwan military had brothels for soldiers.

These military brothels were not abnormal in the world. The French military used Bordels militaires de campagne (BMCs) in both World Wars, Vietnam and as late as 1995 for the French Foreign Legion.

If no one believes me, please read Taipei After Dark (1969) of a farmhouse roughly 20 miles outside Taipei:

About three hundred yards away was an old farmhouse with a big wooden sign above the entrance containing a single Chinese character in paint that had long since begun to crack and peel.
“You know what that means, of course,” said Harry.
By now I knew what the character meant. The literal translation was “whorehouse.” When you get away from urban slickness and big money on Taiwan there is little room given to subtlety.
About a quarter of a mile away we saw a dust cloud: from it there emerged a column of soldiers marching wearily with guns slung over their shoulders and light combat packs on their backs.
“Watch closely,” said Harry.
A sergeant shouted an order and the soldiers were suddenly enveloped in dust again as they began to double time in the direction of the farmhouse.
When they reached the fenced-in courtyard in front of the farmhouse, they stopped abruptly and, as in an ordered drill, formed into a single line. The door to the house opened inwards, and the soldiers moved towards it in short jerky motions. Now they were taking off their packs and loosening their belts. The man at the front of the line already had his fatigue trousers down as he passed through the door.

Prostitution in Taiwan was not made illegal until 1991, but not exactly. Since 1991 it has gone through legal battles on how to soften punishment, create designated zones for legal prostitution, and how to disincentivize the trade.

There is also the never ending discussion about de-criminalization of the service provider while continuing to criminalize payment for sex.

Even today, prostitution is semi-legal. Local governments are averse to licensing obvious brothels, but the conflict between national laws and regional governance has created loopholes.

Spas, barbershops, and KTVs remain throughout the country, though are largely confined to Linsen North Road in Taipei City.

Outside of Taipei City, laws made in Taiwan’s national legislature have a dubious status that benefits organized crime and entrenches corruption in the police.

All you have to do is visit Taichung or Kaohsiung.

Even being raped till the mid-2000s was beyond horrific. If found guilty of raping a woman, not a prostitute, the man had to pay restitution with little or no jail time. The price? What a prostitute normally charges for an hour.

It was not unusual to be kidnapped and raped by your taxi driver. This did not end until cell phone cameras with GPS became prolific. I had to walk my date to the taxi, look inside the front and say hello to the driver, while writing down his taxi registration number on the side of the door and then his license plate. She would call me when she arrived home safely.

In the military, the most famous was the 831 Military Brothel; now a museum on Kinmen. In 2014, a historical drama was made of a love affair between a solider and a prostitute in Paradise in Service. It won accolades, but seemed an unlikely scenario.

The last military brothel was closed on Kinmen in 1990.