TPP proposes tougher penalties for child sexual exploitation

TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislative party caucus on Tuesday (April 9) proposed amendments to The Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act in response to entertainer Mickey Huang's involvement in child pornography. A public hearing is expected this week to address current legal deficiencies and enforcement gaps.

The TPP legislative party caucus plans to initiate amendment procedures, setting sentencing standards for judges, with a focus on "the more distributed, the heavier the sentence."

Legislator Huang Shiou-Fang of the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee said in an interview that there is zero tolerance for sexual harassment, sexual assault, and child sexual exploitation.

Kuomintang (KMT) legislator Wang Yu-min believes that although the legislature passed amendments last year targeting possession of inappropriate child videos, many still think the penalties are too light. She advocates for heavier penalties, a direction that seems to have consensus.

Wang announced that she will arrange a special report next week to understand the severity of child sexual exploitation and the penalties after the new law is implemented. She will consider the TPP's related demands.

According to the current Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act, any person who, without justification, possesses any sexual image or video of a child or a youth shall be subject to imprisonment of not more than one year or detention, or in lieu thereof or in addition thereto a fine of not less than NT$30,000 and not more than NT$300,000. However, there are no specific regulations for "buyers" legal responsibility.

Huang Shiou-Fang emphasized that buying, distributing, or possessing these images is equivalent to aiding and abetting a crime. Taiwan should refer to the laws of other countries, establish sentencing standards for the possession, distribution, filming, and production of child sexual images, and strengthen source crackdowns to achieve deterrence and prevention.

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