Nudists fined for outdoor barbeque party in Wulai

By Jason Pan / Staff reporter





Participants in an outdoor nudist barbeque party in the mountains of Wulai (烏來) in New Taipei City escaped serious punishment for offenses against public decency, after prosecutors gave them only a one-year “stayed charge.”

Prosecutors said they decided to be lenient because the party organizers had tried to safeguard their privacy and the activity took place in a secluded location.

The leaders of the nudist group, a woman surnamed Chen (陳) and a man surnamed Chu (朱), organized the au naturel barbeque event, which took place in a forest in September last year.

An undated photograph shows members of a nudist organization meeting along Tonghou River in New Taipei City. Photo provided by police

The “stayed charge,” handed down earlier this week, means that the charges have been withdrawn, but each participant was fined NT$2,000.

Commenting on the decision, Chen said: “I enjoy the feeling of my clothes-free body being in touch with nature. What is wrong with that?”

Saying society is too conservative, Chen added: “Why do people think that the naked body is something dirty?”

“We are just a group of people who love to embrace freedom outdoors. It is a healthy lifestyle to bare one’s body in nature. We do not engage in wild sex parties; it is not a swinger’s club. I do not understand why people have such biased preconceptions.”

Chen and Chu utilized Facebook to invite fellow devotees of “naturism” to join the party. Male participants paid NT$1,000, while women forked out NT$300 to join the party.

According to a prosecutors’ statement, a total of 10 people — seven men and three women — ranging in age from 36 to 57, attended the event.

They drove by car to a forest in Wulai, then hiked to a place near the upper stream of Tonghou River (桶后溪) to a secluded location to hold the party.

Chen said that the fees were used to pay for the food, barbeque grills, fuel, equipment and other expenses.

She said men were charged more because they usually consume more food than women.

Chu said nudist camps are found in many countries around the world, and the clubs have families as regular members.

“So why do people in Taiwan give us peculiar looks as though something deviant is going on?” she asked.

“After what happened this time, I do not think that nudist clubs have any future in Taiwan,” she said.

According to media reports, someone tipped off the police about the event, and officers conducted an investigation, questioning Chu and other participants and taking photographs to use as evidence.