No. 5 (1997.5.16-31)

Feature News: M for Matrimony, M for Murder I'd Rather Be a Public Prostitute Male Desire for Control Isn't Limited by Age or Position Unrepentant Molesters Credit Cooperatives Maintain Anti-Marriage/Anti-Pregnancy Policy Active Support for Taiwanese Comfort Women Hackers on the Prowl Widespread Pre-marital Pregnancy Texas Permits Voluntary Neutering Stripping the Patriarchy Naked Feature News: M for Matrimony, M for Murder Upon his release from prison on parole, Chou Tsan-hui murdered his wife because he suspected her of having an extra-marital affair. The week before Chou killed her, Chou's wife reported to police that Chou had tried to strangle her to death. Persuaded by local police authorities, Chou's wife decided not to press charges. In another incident, You Tsung-i, in the heat of an argument, battered his wife and slammed their three month-old baby boy against the floor. The child is still listed in critical condition. According to You's wife, after she went with her father to report the incident to the police, the police arrived on the scene but did not attempt either to restrain You or to actively handle the case. Instead, the police sat around and cracked jokes with You. Wu Lai-fa, a habitual wife and child-batterer who would beat his wife because otherwise he "couldn't sleep" and would beat his son because he didn't smile enough, forcibly cut off his daughter's hair when she said that she preferred to go with her mother in case of divorce. (Independence Daily News, May 19, 1997: 7; United Daily News, May 25, 1997: 7; Liberty Times, May A31, 1997: 17). * "Law stops at the family's doorstep." To this very day, law enforcement agencies still assume that marital violence is a private affair, turning the family into a modern jungle where the strong eat the weak. The young and weak suffer while petty tyrants rule. Can we continue to stand on the sidelines and just passively observe this kind of domestic violence? I'd Rather Be a Public Prostitute The Taipei Municipal Department of Social Welfare conducted interviews with 122 public prostitutes (the total number of public prostitutes stands at 137). Their average age is 36, average monthly income is NT$107,000 (approx. US$3,890), of which they save an average of NT$26,000 per month (approx. US$945). They have on the average worked as public prostitutes for eight-and-a-half years. 86% have an elementary or high school education; 85% have no other special skills, while more than half have to pay for rent and family livelihood. 60% of those questioned were opposed to the municipal government's plans to terminate public prostitution, while no voices supported the plan. 85% believe that the termination of public prostitution will affect their livelihoods. 67% planned to continue their career as prostitutes. 93% said they were unwilling to undergo career counseling. In response to Mayor Chen Shui-pien's plan to terminate public prostitution, the Department of Social Welfare has decided to provide prostitutes who change their career with a full year of emergency life support for women. (Independence Daily News, May 16, 1997: 14) Male Desire for Control Isn't Limited by Age or Position Li Ping-hsi, a researcher at the Institute for Industrial Technology, placed mercury in the office water fountain after a female colleague refused his advances. Li admitted that after his unrequited love turned into hate, he wanted to teach his colleague a lesson. A certain Taoyuan middle school student surnamed Wu put up a group of four girls to beating up another girl in the same class who refused his favor. The victim suffered a slight concussion from the beating. A male student surnamed Teng in the Physics Department at National Central University slipped into the off-campus residence of another NCU female student. When the female student was startled out of sleep, Teng grabbed her by the throat, causing serious wounds to her head, face, and chest. The NCU Student Council sponsored a protest march attended by some three hundred demonstrators who criticized University authorities for their conservative, low-key approach to the incident. They also pointed out that reports of sexual harassment against female students by foreign laborers have increased since new construction projects began on campus. Students demanded University authorities to pay more attention to campus security. (Independence Daily News, May 17, 1997: 6; Independence Daily News, May 22, 1997: 3; Independence Daily News, May 28, 1997: 7) Unrepentant Molesters Taichung's "Peitun Molester" Hsu Chih-hung, recently captured by police, committed at least two known instances of rape. A highly articulate graduate of junior college, Hsu was working before his arrest as the manager of a real estate agency where he received a monthly salary of NT$100,000 (approx. US$3,636). Hsu expressed the belief that rape was not a crime as damaging as robbery. One of his victims jumped out of a window in order to escape, breaking her spinal cord. She has still not fully recovered. The Taipei Public Bus Molester Liang Lien-cheng, sentenced in 1994 to 50 days confinement for sexually harassing women on public buses, was recently sentenced to another 59 days for public obscenity after returning to his old ways. The maximum punishment for public obscenity offenders is very light, hence the sentence handed down by the courts. (Liberty Times, May 28, 1997: 5; Liberty Times, May 24, 1997: 11). Credit Cooperatives Maintain Anti-Marriage/Anti-Pregnancy Policy Acting on a tip, the Council of Labor Affairs found internal regulations at the First Cooperative Trust of Chiayi stipulated that the status of female employees who get married automatically switched from "full-time" to "temporary" employment. Not only would contracts have to be renegotiated annually, they would also be terminated in case of pregnancy, without any compensation. The Second Cooperative Trust of Taichung demanded that female employees sign in advance an automatic agreement of termination. In spite of efforts made several years ago to eradicate such practices, provisions against marriage and pregnancy continue to reappear. (Liberty Times, May 28, 1997: 14) Active Support for Taiwanese Comfort Women In response to the demands for compensation and justice on the part of former Taiwanese Comfort Women, The [Women's Aid Foundation] recently produced a public interest advertisement directly refuting the benefits offered by the Japanese Asian Women's Foundation (AWF), repeating its demand for the Japanese government to take direct responsibility. Legislative Representative Liu Kuang-hua joined others in passing a motion in the Legislative Yuan directing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide NT$500,000 (approx. US$18,181) to each of the former Taiwanese Comfort Women in order to help them resist the AWF. The United Nations' International Labour Organizztion (ILO), scheduled to convene its annual meeting in June, has included wartime sexual slavery among the topics to be discussed. Hence the Women's Aid Foundation is sponsoring an international petition campaign destined for delivery to the ILO. For an account of the details of this protest movement, readers may consult Womenet News, No.2 and No.4. We sincerely hope that you will visit our web site at http://www.womenet.org.tw, where you may find a resume of the petition to be delivered to the ILO. Please sign and participate in our modest support for the benefit of former Taiwanese Comfort Women! Hackers on the Prowl A feminist BBS electronic bulletin board was recently invaded by a computer hacker. The hacker, a student in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Taiwan University, claimed it was accidental trespass, but the Feminist BBS pointed out that the student in question, head of the Sunny Beach BBS at Taiwan University, was in a position where he ought to be a defender of BBS ethics--certainly not someone who was likely to make a simple "accident." In the past, the student was removed from his position for abuse of power when he used his authority to secretly read other users' mail. In addition, this trespasser even tried to alter the Feminist BBS system program in order to leave himself a "backdoor" for future trespass. The Feminist BBS is considering whether or not to press charges against the individual. In a related development, a group of net users concerned about Gay and Lesbian issues strongly protested that this kind of "trespassing" could adversely affect the space of expression for Gays and Lesbians. (Liberty Times, May 28, 1997: 7; Womenet News Net Staff). Widespread Pre-marital Pregnancy The Family Planning Research Center of the Taiwan Provincial Government released a research report on infertility. Among the over 6,600 women consulted by researchers, more than one-third reported pre-marital pregnancy. The Department of Public Health has decided to strictly control the usage of birth prevention medications. Women seeking to procure such medicine must obtain a physician's prescription. (United Daily News, May 17, 1997: 19). Texas Permits Voluntary Neutering The State of Texas has decided to allow repeated sexual offenders the choice of undergoing chemical treatment for neutering. Convicts opting for such treatment must be over 21 acting of their own free accord. The treatment will administered after psychological evaluation, and it cannot be used in order to reduce the sentence or obtain parole. (The China Times, May 22, 1997: 3). Stripping the Patriarchy Naked This year's graduation prom poster for the Chienkuo Boys High School features a naked male with his back to the viewer. This poster has appeared in the Taipei First Girls High School and the Chungshan Girls High School. Some female students responded: "He's so well-developed, it's definitely not a Chienkuo student!" A male surnamed Wu who did not pay the bill for a massage in a local barber shop was chased all the way down to the Hsinying Train Station by three female masseuses. The three stripped Wu buck naked and ran off leaving an embarrassed and stunned Wu to plead for help from bystanders and police. (United Daily News, May 31, 1997: 5; United Daily News, May 31, 1997: 6) An eye and appreciation for the male physique must be acquired. This is the fundamental first step towards the liberation of female sexual desire. No doubt the high school girls in question have already made a great start. The three masseuses are even more advanced. It used to be that only men would use nude photos of women to threaten them, but this is the first time we've seen women turning the tables against men by stripping them to humiliate them. There is still a lot more to be done in a patriarchal society to help women turn their disadvantage into an advantage and come out of their passivity actively swinging. These two examples give us encouragement and inspiration. Home | Womenet News | News Search