In the National Assembly, the "Guaranteed Seats for Female Representatives" which women's organizations have taken efforts to promote were still defeated through the procedures of partisan negotiation. The process was complicated; here are the key points: After the negotiation between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), they moved to reconsider eight of the proposals, including the Guaranteed Seats proposal. The New Party regarded the motion to reconsider a violation of procedural justice, thus deciding not to support any of the proposals and asking for a second vote. National Assembly Member Ji Xin of the New Party requested the Party to treat the Guaranteed Seats separately but this request was not accepted. In the Assembly meeting on the 17th, the resolution of the DPP-KMT negotiation was passed with marginal support, but after the second vote asked by the New Party, the DPP-KMT resolution was defeated at last. Subsequently, KMT Assembly members at once moved for reviews scheduled for the next day. In the evening of the 17th, KMT's Wu Boxiong and DPP's Xu Xinliang, representing their respective parties, reached an agreement and determined to reject all reviews in order to facilitate the third reading. Because of all this, the reviews were withdrawn with the support from both DPP and KMT on the 18th, despite that Assembly Members from the New Party protested and asked for another vote. At this point, the Guaranteed Seats for Female Representatives were formally defeated.

All three parties sacrificed the rights of women only to protect their own political standings during this whole constitution revision process. This case also triggered a confidence crisis between the women's organizations and female political figures. (Liberty Times, page 4, 1997-07-18; United Daily News, page 6, 1997-07-19; Womenet News Team)

Novelist Li Ang's new novel "Everybody Sticks in the Incense Burner in Beigang" invoked wide discussion because its content inferred the affairs of Chen Wenqian, an important figure in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Li argued that the novel was purely a creation without any implication, while Chen considered that Li was retaliating because Li broke up with Shi Mingde, former chair of the DPP, and mistook Chen for Shi's new girlfriend.

Looking at this scene of "women being difficult against each other" we sigh and wish we'd be men! Shi Mingde is having a great journey at the Baltic Sea while these two women hits each other badly!

The Health Administration announced the draft for a formalized medical inspection report of rape victims, requiring that the doctor must perform checks of venereal disease, AIDS and pregnancy for the victim, and must assist in the collection of evidences, including samples of semen, saliva and pubic hair, nail scratches and photographs. The doctor will have to record all injuries and the statement of the victim and then determine whether the injuries are results of rape. In the past, doctors were not willing to be witnesses in the court and gave the victims only B-category injury reports indicating just hymen breakage. This resulted in many cases without conviction due to lack of evidence.

The National Taiwan University has established a Sexual Assault Prevention and Treatment Group which introduced many advanced instruments that will help the acquisition of evidences. These instruments included ultraviolet lamps which manifest dried semen on the victim, evidence acquisition kits which collect semen and analyze the DNA, and fingerprint collectors for finding fingerprints left on the victim by the assailant. (China Times, page 6, 1997-07-28)

A documentary film about the political involvement of women produced and supervised by the late Ms. Peng Wanru, "Remembering the Path They Walked--The Footprints of Their Political Involvement" was completed and premiered. This documentary, directed by female film maker Jian Weisi, interviewed female political figures of the Democratic Progressive Party such as Lu Xiulian, Xiau Yuzhen, Chen Ju, Fan Xunlu, Chen Wenqian and women's movement activists Li Yuanzhen and Peng Wanru herself. The film was a review of the history of female participation in the democratic movement, interpreting the path of female political involvement from a feminist point of view by Peng Wanru. The screening of this documentary after the assaulted death of Peng highly impacted the viewers. (China Times, pages 7 and 14, 1997-07-26; Womenet News Team)

The annual report of the UNICEF indicated that worldwide sexual discrimination was responsible for the missing of sixty million female, especially in China where the One Child Policy resulted in the missing 29 million. Other cases include: Five thousand females have been killed in India every year because of the lack of dowry; Wives in the Middle East and the Latin America might be killed by the husband legally if suspected of infidelity. (China Times Express, page 7, 1997-07-23)

The Tibet Human Rights Center said that the People's Republic of China, in order to reduce the population proportion of the Tibetan people, forced Tibetan women to sterilization. Three hundred and eight (308) women were forced to undergo sterilization operation during last September and October, and one of them was killed in such operation. The PRC encouraged Tibetan couples who did not give birth so as to contorl the birth rate of Tibetan people under 4.5 percent. (China Times, page 9, 1997-07-21)

Two technical college students invited an underage girl to a KTV and then, using the excuse that she was not over 18 and could not stay out late, brought her to a hotel where they drugged and raped her. The police arrested the two students later.

With a disguised video camera, a man Liu Sheng takes pictures of female private parts at train stations and other public places until getting caught red-handed by the Railway Police according to the Criminal Code 235-1, concerning the distribution or sale of indecent materials. However, the court considered that Liu did not play the the material he recorded with the camera--thus not violating any laws--and decided not to prosecute him. (China Times Express, page 5, 1997-07-19; China Times, page 6, 1997-07-20)

The Kuomintang (KMT) decided to nominate Lai Fengwei as the candidate for the seat of the Penghu County Magistrate, which started the protest of the Provincial Council Member Xu Suye who served the county for 40 years. Xu said that KMT Secretary-General Wu Boxiong asked her to write a report and guaranteed her that she will get nominated by the KMT, while Lai will be nominated with her as the candidate for deputy magistrate, but at last Lai got nominated to run for the magistrate. (United Daily News, page 4, 1997-07-31)