Sat, May 18, 2002 page11

• The voice of generation next

  The future of POTS, Taiwan's only true alternative journal, will again be determined next week When Shih Hsin University decides whether or not to keep funding this mouthpiece for everything radical

  • By David Frazier / STAFF REPORTER
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  First there was the article on a hundred ways to have an abortion, including a few tips on safe and cheap ways to do it yourself. Then there was the "anti-anti-drugs" (反反毒) stance, which at one stretch fueled an eight-week series of articles that at times turned into something of a drug encyclopedia. There has also been notable coverage of S&M, rave culture, e-living and teen rights.

  But in stark contrast to the rest of Taiwan's vast and redundant media landscape, POTS (破報), the 32-page free weekly tabloid responsible for all this as well as Taipei's most complete entertainment listings, doesn't print much on politics -- unless you count placing photos of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) alongside those of Hitler and Stalin, which probably does.

  Strangely, POTS' many ridiculous stands haven't caused it much trouble. What has, however, is that it is a perennial money loser, so it's forced to rely on funding from Shih Hsin University (世新大學), the Taipei journalism college that has financed the weekly since its founding in 1995.

  

  PHOTO: DAVID FRAZIER, TAIPEI TIMES

  Next week, this funding problem might get even bigger when Shih Hsin's board of directors votes to renew the POTS budget, effectively deciding whether the weekly will survive for another year. This will take place next Monday or Tuesday.

  But at POTS, this cyclical grilling is nothing new. These potentially terminal financial crises roll around every year at this time, because as its editor-in-chief Inertia Huang (黃孫權) explained, "We're not like other papers. We're on a year-to-year basis."

  Recent rumors about the amount of money POTS is losing, however, have supported fears that, more than in past years, the college is really considering pulling the plug this time. It would mean an end to Taipei's only alternative journal.

  

  On Thursday, Huang admitted that this danger had been present, but will likely be averted. As for the budget the paper is given to survive upon, however, he could only say, "We're still bargaining."

  One item precariously on the bargaining table is content. When asked about it, Huang, smoking a cigarette and sitting on top of his desk, only shrugged before finally justifying his publication, saying, "you know, it's educational." An odd response perhaps, but what is even stranger, lots of people agree with him.

  Arvin Cheng (鄭承偉), a thirty-something father of one and owner of two student-district cafes (both called Cafe Odeon), distributes the free weekly from his shops because it's the "only source for alternative ideas and the discussion of alternative topics," including homosexuality and the activities of many non-governmental organizations.

  

  Nikita Wu (巫祈鄰), who for a year and a half has been one of POTS' three reporters in what she calls "the first steady job I ever had," said that four or five years ago "when I was in college, I was really into POTS, because for my generation, it really opened a lot of doors."

  As examples, she noted POTS as the first place she ever read or heard about the alternative rock festival Spring Scream, and also as a unique and extensive source of information about drugs.

  According to Huang, the tabloid "changed `Say no to drugs' into `Know how to know.'"

  

  POTS' cover art has long stood out among local publications.

  COUTESY POTS

  "Knowledge is more important," he said, "and that's what Taiwan is lacking, whether it's the kids or the police."

  Now in his thirties, Huang said he grew up as a small-time gangster, smoking glue and whatever industrial resins were handy. The information in POTS' recent reports, he said, came from a combination of his own experiences and extensive research. Now more than ever, he believes that it's important to cover drugs in Taiwan due to the trend's massive scope and rapid development.

  "Now it's more and more complicated," he said. "They're mixing so many different chemicals, and it's high volume and associated with criminal behavior. I write about this a lot, because now it's not like it was for me. Back then it was more pure ... liberation, free experience ... Now it's fashion. A new drug is coming out every week. Practically every pub has its own top 10 list.

  But don't get the wrong idea. POTS content isn't limited to drugs and the dark side of the cutting edge. The paper's mainstays are arts, literature, music and film. Recent issues have been devoted to topics like expatriate Filipino poets in Taiwan and activities of Hakka cultural groups. In the past, the paper has attacked local politicians for imposing curfews on those under 18 and other measures it perceives as violations of youth rights. And as one of the paper's more unique features, each issue's inside cover presents two or three dozen blurbs on everything from alternative views on hard news to subculture developments, with each item providing a Web link leading to more information on its particular topic.

  To echo Huang: "it's educational."

  POTS was begun in 1994 as a section in the Lih Pao Daily (立報), a leftwing media watchdog that's also funded by Shih Hsin University (Shih Hsin itself was founded as a private institute in 1956 with the purpose of providing alternative training for Taiwan's journalists, a mission it still maintains). Huang, then a graduate school student in architecture, banded together with several other non-journalists who were also active in Taiwan's student movement of 1989. Their goal was to create an alternative type of media for Taiwan, and as guides, they looked to certain US publications, most notably New York's Village Voice.

  "From the beginning of the student movement we were concerned about [politics], but we found that whether you were for the KMT or the DPP you'd be disappointed. That's why we're more interested in covering social movements than political movements. So we write about student activism, labor movements and other efforts at social change rather than writing actual political criticism," Huang said.

  POTS became independent from the Lih Pao Daily and was released in its present format in 1995. At that time it cost NT$30 a copy and there was no editorial hierarchy, which Huang recalled, "wasted a lot of time." Internal problems caused the paper to cease publication for a stretch of several months in 1998, but since then it has published continuously as a free weekly.

  For one short stretch it was distributed in Taipei's MRT system, but after an article on Japanese S&M tours and repeated publication of nude photos came to the attention of MRT authorities, the stint quickly ended.

  Throughout all of this, the paper has derived significant support from Lucy Cheng (成露茜), who is 1) the daughter of Shih Hsin's founder, 2) head of the Lih Pao Daily, and 3) a former UCLA professor of sociology. Huang said that she is sympathetic to the weekly's cause, but that she is also under pressure to defend its budget, and losses, to the Shih Hsin board.

  This means some changes may be in order. At present, POTS' circulation is mostly on or near university campuses, with a few exceptions, like distribution at Eslite bookstores.

  Huang said that he's mulled broadening the paper's appeal by weeding out some of the more extreme elements and channeling them into other venues. "Advertising is getting harder and harder because of our radical viewpoint, so we might have to try to be just a little more popular in style," he said.

  If the budget Huang hopes for is passed next week, the radical elements will go into 15 books POTS will begin publishing this year. Some of the volumes will consist of collated past articles, others of translated materials. In hopes of drawing more ads, the paper itself may cover topics of wider appeal and listings could be expanded.

  And to generate revenue, there's also one last idea. Huang has this plan of running tours to take Taiwanese youth to music festivals and raves around the world, including Goa, Sheffield, Fuji Rock and full moon parties on Koh Pha Ngan. Like he says: "There are a lot of aspects to learning, you know. Plus, this might actually make money."

  But first, Shih Hsin's board must pass POTS' budget, and that decision will come early next week.
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