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Keep your hat on

In contrast to Edward Lu's let-ter ("Letter,"Aug. 3, page 8) concerning the Collective of Sex Workers and Supporters, I applaud that group's efforts in exercising its right to free speech to educate the people of Taiwan on the benefits of safe sex.

I met Wang Fang-ping, the collective's secretary-general,during her campaign for Taipei City Council last December and had the opportunity to discuss the collective's goals with her, something I'd be more than happy to explain to Wu.

The collective seeks to remove the stigma of sex in society. This stigma creates an environment where neither men or women are able to openly discuss issues such as family planning or sexually transmit-ted diseases without fear of scandal and self-loathing. The organization is working toward a more accepting, frank atmosphere in which sex can be discussed openly and -- most importantly -- honestly.

While many readers like Wu consider this attitude as "a sign of a lack of humility, self respect and decency," as well as the impending death of Taiwan's "ethnic Chinese society" at the hands of Western culture, I would argue that the collective's mission is actually to help the Taiwanese find their self respect through education.

With sex education glossed over in the prudish Confucian-based school system, many young Taiwanese have no idea about safe sex, or a condom's effectiveness in preventing the transmission of HIV/AIDS.

This conscious effort to keep the issue of sex education out of the public discourse for fear of "losing face" will end up harming Taiwanese society a lot more than helping it.

In 2001, the Taipei Times printed the results of a sex survey ?("Taiwanese not using condoms," Oct 15, page 4) that revealed the average sexually active person in Taiwan uses fewer than 10 condoms on an annual basis, and that over 20 percent of those who had one-night stands didn't bother using one at all.

The survey also found that two people were contracting HIV every day. It stands to reason that at least 1,460 people have since been infected with the virus that leads to AIDS.

While by no means an epidemic compared to infection rates in other countries, this number is higher than the amount of deaths caused by the recent SARS epidemic. And thanks to reactionary attitudes of cultural conservatives in Taiwan, this number will only grow in the future.

Educating the public does not guarantee responsible sexual behavior any more than a driver's license guarantees safe driving habits, but outside of forced castration it's the best thing we've got.

HIV/AIDS is out there and there is no amount of moral pontification that will make it disappear. The collective's in-your-face tactics serve only as a means to wake Taiwan up in the face of this threat.

Time and again, education has been proven to be the most effective way of dealing with sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancy and other sexual issues. This sort of frank and honest attitude cannot be classified as "immoral" or "Western" in nature. Sexual responsibility is universal.

If it takes a group of people waving condom-clad fruit in public to drive that point home, then so be it. Hats off to Wang Fang-ping and the Collective of Sex Workers and Supporters for their efforts to keep our other "hats" on!

Jason Wright
Annandale, Virginia

Surrendering sovereignty

Judging from their conduct during SARS crisis, and the subsequent WHO, Kuala Lumpur incidents, the pan-blue camp has already surrendered Taiwan's sovereignty, and the people's right to self determination ("Chiang dynasty a political ruse," Aug. 13, page 8).

Who is going to stop the People's Liberation Army (PLA) from sneaking across the Taiwan Strait in the dark of the night or deploying a Trojan-horse strategy by flying into Taipei's Songshan airport on a passenger jet if the pan-blue camp succeeds in opening direct links? The "one China" army under the command of Lien-Soong?

Once the PLA has landed on Taiwan, would there be any way to return to democracy again?Would there be any way to avoid becoming a communist?

Taiwanese voters should ask themselves if they can trust the fate of their children and grandchildren's to the pan-blue camp -- with its surrendering attitude and disregard of "localizing" interests? Perhaps that will be the fate of Chiang's grandson -- or perhaps an even worse end -- "one country, two systems."

Chen Ming-chung
Chicago, Illinois
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