Police bust a 50 room Brothel near Snake Alley
Mostly foreign sex workers.
Brian Hioe has posted about this crackdown:
A police raid on a building I pass by daily over sex work. Maybe these women would have it safer if sex work were decriminalized in such a manner that can remove gangster influence? Police actions can endanger sex workers, usually migrants, as well
You see police standing outside of the building very often, so they’re completely aware it’s here and have been so for some time. I suspect this happens before elections, however
As having lived here [in Wanhua] for many years, it’s rather depressing when you’re eating in the breakfast shop in the early morning, and you hear “Run!” and the clatter of heels. I heard that once and it made a deep impression
Source: https://twitter.com/brianhioe/status/1712760572880765063
Guy
That’s “27 of whom were foreign” taking business from the local Taiwanese. And didn’t have proper work permits to do that job.
They didn’t/don’t raid brothels that are purely Taiwanese workers. That only happens if there are some other blatant laws being broken or someone’s not getting their payoff.
The last Taipei mayor who is now running for president wanted to turn part of the Wanhua district into an official regulated red light district. He floating the idea but didn’t get enough support.
And one of the recent Wanhua area district candidates ran on a platform of legalizing it in the neighborhood.
If they clear all the illegal foreign workers then maybe there’s higher chance of getting some regulation into the area business.
Maybe an ulterior motive.
Money? lol
Well that area was an actual legal red light district until prostitution was made illegal in 1999 or whenever, and it has essentially been a de facto legal red light district since then, in the sense that everyone knows it exists and the police didn’t appear to try to stop it until now.
That didn’t quite look right to me, as I remember how some feminists and sexual liberation activists were furious at then Taipei City Mayor Chen Shui-bian for criminalizing sex work in that city. And yes my memory is not completely falling apart—it seems the correct year is 1997 (Chen was mayor from 1994-1998). Here’s a retrospective article on this subject, published back when the Taipei Times was actually a damned good newspaper.
Guy
Hence my use of “or whenever.” I knew it was some time around then. My point was that it has been a red light district for a long time, and for much of its history a legal one.
The date actually matters, as that was one of the big crisis moments for social activists and the DPP. It’d be a completely different story if it was 1999 when Ma was mayor.
Guy
It’s completely irrelevant to my point, but if “correcting” my rough estimate makes you feel good, I’m happy to help.
Legal? Was it regulate? Did they pay tax, NHI, etc? I don’t think it’s was “legal”. Lots human trafficking too.
Yes it was legal. Chen Shui-bian criminalized it.
Not sure about NHI as I don’t think that system existed yet, or if it did it just got off the ground.
Guy
Yes, it was legal. Not hard to find information about this online if you weren’t around then.
Isn’t that equivalent to syphilis going after swimmer’s itch? 
I lived right near this place when I first arrived in Taiwan. Everyone knew it was a brothel, the police, all the locals. It had been there for years.
The girls would be out on the street during the day, then they’d all disappear before police patrolled, as if they were tipped off when it would happen.