My phone kept ringing with messages all night. I think everyone is quite concerned about SWAG being shut down.
As their long-term partner, seeing a friend I work with suddenly become the subject of social news is hard not to feel. I immediately sent them a text message to check on them after seeing the news. They also feel bitter; we can only encourage each other and hope we can get through this…
So, what does SWAG being shut down mean? What does the future hold?
Having witnessed the SWAG scandal, seen adult film actresses openly soliciting casual sex partners, seen them set up a Taipei MRT photo studio, and seen Mirror Weekly report on livestreamers openly engaging in prostitution… frankly, I was quite worried about them every time they made the news. Finally, they were shut down—but not as I expected. I always thought the trigger for their downfall was the actress's family, accompanied by a legislator, accusing SWAG of "harming my daughter." Instead, it was the police who took action after a legislator's questioning.
What will happen next? News reports indicate that the police have charged them with obscenity and shut down the website. Prosecution is likely inevitable; it all depends on the judge's ruling. Actually, the SWAG scandal shows that Taiwanese judges are becoming more lenient on pornography. Obscenity, strictly speaking, isn't a heinous crime; the penalties are available online. The key question is whether SWAG will be allowed to operate again in the future.
What if it's not possible?
Personally, I think watching adult videos is a need. If SWAG can't be revived, there are other platforms. It wouldn't be difficult for actresses to switch to Only Fans. Also, some people might have opinions about SWAG's actresses or be dissatisfied with their quality, but I think this platform has experimented with many business models over the years and proven that it attracts customers. Can it be simply banned after a crackdown?
No, I don't think so. I just don't know on what platform or in what form it will continue to appear. After all, people are more aware now, and various platforms in Taiwan or funded by the mainland are springing up like mushrooms after rain. It's like killing one person only to have thousands more like me. So what I'm more worried about is whether my past partners' livelihoods will be affected. After all, everyone has families to support. Speaking of sadness, yesterday's Taiwan Railway incident was a real blow to me...
You might think I'm being dramatic, but I hope that the living recover and the deceased rest in peace, and that such terrible things will never happen again.
