The weather is hot and stuffy, and the barometric pressure is very low. But the mood of Taiwanese is even lower. The nation watched, transfixed, after Pai Hsiao-yen, the 17-year-old daughter of well-known TV personality Pai Ping-ping, was kidnapped and held for ransom. Eventually her body was found in a ditch; she had been dead for over a week.

"Who killed Pai Hsiao-yen?"

A radio call-in show host, popular with young people, asked this question of her audience. First she played two songs, one of which is called "Seventeen-Year-Old Girl," and another about an orphan girl who cannot find a home. The hearts of her listeners were chilled, but their blood boiled:

"She was killed by society, by this society where human feeling has been destroyed." "Our society is sick!" "It was the government, which is totally incompetent." "It was the media, which interfered with the case just to get a scoop." "It's education. What are parents teaching their children!?"

A later answer seemed to confirm all of the above claims, when a boy called in to say: "It's not strange that this kind of thing happens. Every day we hear the same thing: Make money, study hard so that you can get a good job and make a lot of money!"

If these are the values we give the young, then we are all responsible! When I say us, I mean young to middle-aged adults, the generation that is the mainstream in society. This society is of our making. If this society is sick, then how can we be sure we are healthy and unaffected? On the other hand, if we stop blaming others, and face up to problems to solve them, then there is no danger that cannot be averted!

For example, if it is the government's fault, we need not vote for it, and can even impeach it! This is not an eternal regime! But, we cannot ask that it be omnipotent, either. Or, if you blame it on the media, then we can ignore the media, and it will not survive. But we should also stop looking for "scoops," "insider stories," and "exclusive reports." We can't just blame the media, and not restrain our own appetite for news.

If all the blame falls on society, for making money the measure of success, then we ourselves should not aspire to having so much, and should not envy those who have. We should teach our children to be satisfied with less and treasure what they have.

We run our families, we make up society, we elect our government. For better or worse, we cannot claim to be apart. It is up to us to make Taiwan a better place.

Of course, most people-including you and I-feel that we are powerless "little guys." Also, we would never commit crimes or harm others. But look at our little habits: When we drive, do we often pass on the right and cross over the yellow lines? Do we honk at old people and children who have the temerity to cross in front of us as we drive down some narrow lane? Do we routinely double and triple park? Do we make people angry and curse at them? On the other hand, do we ever treat people with basic dignity without regard to our relative social positions, and give others space for themselves? Our ancestors spoke of rituals and courtesy; we speak of EQ. It comes down to one thing: Can we look at ourselves in the eye?

In this issue we have a story about hiking in the mountain trails around our cities. On Saturday night, after 9:00, I got a call from the city official in charge of the maintenance of these trails. He called to tell us the itinerary for our hike the next day, and said after leaving the office he was going to take a walk through Elephant Mountain to map out activities for the next time.

In our interview with Lin Ku-fang, a modern advocate of traditional Chinese music, there was much discussion of Chinese classical music and the philosophy of life. The American translator said that this was the most interesting article he had read in a long time.

When preparing the report on the 50th anniversary of the Government Information Office, I read an interesting anecdote about Tung Hsien-kuang, founder of the GIO's precursor organization: An ancestor of the Tung family was looking for a suitable gravesite. The geomancer recommended two sites. One would insure that his descendants would be wealthy and powerful, the other that would insure them calm and tranquil lives. Without hesitation the man chose the second site.

There is no shortage of good people in our society. But we also have many blind spots and bad habits.

It was not long ago that in this very column we expressed sadness about the murder of an advocate for women's rights and safety. Today we feel pain and outrage that an innocent young girl has been sacrificed to criminal evil.

Our society is indeed seriously ill. But it is, after all, our society. Only we can cure it. We can begin with ourselves, our families, and the things that happen around us. Whether it be inconsiderate behavior of our own, or social injustice, we must think of ways to change these. For example, if you see in the newspaper that drivers from a certain taxi company beat someone up, then refuse to take that company's cars. If media try to attract attention by focusing on sex or perversion, then don't read those periodicals. If we see someone making mischievous phone calls to Pai Ping-ping, we have the responsibility to remind him that it is wrong, or to stop him. It's really hard to conceive of what kind of person would do such a thing! It is even harder to imagine that, among the seven or eight people involved in the kidnapping, and the friends and family members who knew about it, not one stepped forward to say something that could have saved the girl's life.

To stop the greater evil, we must begin by no longer tolerating lesser evils. We must reflect, and participate in reforming society in word and deed. Only when we all have internalized a deep sense of responsibility can we stop such violent behavior by criminals. Let us act practically so that Pai Hsiao-yen's death will not be wholly in vain. We cannot reclaim her life, but perhaps we can reclaim our social conscience. Let us each begin with ourselves.