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Safe-sex message indecent

One of the greatest things that Taiwan has always prided itself on is the strength of the fabric of our society. Ethnic Chinese societies do not leave their elders to rot in retirement homes after a lifetime of work and contribution to both family and society. Taiwan has always held a degree of pride in our own humility and self sacrifice. However, just one look at the local newspaper headlines and we see that this is being abandoned in favor of a freakish headlong charge toward some weird form of perceived Western liberalism.

For the generation of Taiwanese that grew up in the 60s and 70s, most things Western were considered superior and worth imitating, whether it be cigarettes or clothing or other goods. Today this same trend of society-wide self-loathing in favor of things imported still exists, but in an even worse fashion. The Taipei Times reported that members of the Collective of Sex Workers and Supporters were using bananas to teach passers- by on a busy Taipei street how to use a condom ("Groups work street to sell safe-sex message," Aug. 2, page 2). First off, what in the world is the Collective of Sex Workers and Supporters? Is prostitution not illegal in Taiwan? Does it not stand to reason that membership in this group is automatic admission of participation in an industry that is inherently illegal? Preventing AIDS and other STD's is a good thing for society, but one that should be done with some taste and decorum. Using a banana sheathed in a condom on a busy public street is obscene and offensive to the large number of people who will invariably pass by and have no choice but to see the demonstration. Every one of the participants in the demonstration should have been cited and arrested for public indecency.

If anyone ever tried to pull a stunt like that on a public street in any large city in the US they would probably be arrested. Not only were the participants from the Collective of Sex Workers and Supporters demonstration not arrested or cited, but there were not even any protests against this activity. Being lewd and obscene in public is not a sign of open-mindedness or advanced liberal thinking. It is just a sign of a lack of humility, self respect and decency.

Edward Wu
Los Angeles, California
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