It was nighttime on the last Wednesday in August of 1978. My first class in America-US Foreign Policy-was nearing its end. My brain was addled with all the English terms, names, and incidents I had heard. Suddenly I realized that the teacher was speaking directly to me-mainly because everyone else in the class was turning and looking directly at me! I listened intently and gazed at the gentle blue eyes behind the thick spectacles, but still I could not figure out what he wanted me, the only Asian student in the class, to do. I simply smiled and nodded, as I had often done since getting to the US, indicating "no problem." Meanwhile, I was thinking that after class I would have to ask a friendly looking classmate what it was all about.
Unexpectedly, the teacher seemed dismayed and began saying, "No! No!" Then he asked a classmate named John to explain to me "why I could not." "Tell her what happened over the summer vacation." So, it turned out to have nothing to do with US foreign policy, but was a campus matter. As I listened carefully, it was my turn to look dismayed, as John slowly related how a few days earlier a girl had hitched a ride home, but never got there. A couple of days later, her body was found in a cornfield two hours drive away. My teacher and classmates patiently explained that under no circumstances should I get into the car of a stranger.
When, last December, news of the murder of Democratic Progressive Party Women's Affairs director Peng Wanju came out, I was cut to the heart. The terrible image depicted by my teacher all those years ago again came to mind. Twenty years apart, and half a world away, but nothing had changed: You are a women, innately unable to fend off violent criminals. And it doesn't matter whether you are a young American student or an accomplished woman of Taiwan-if you are alone, then you may be the next victim. What kind of a world is this? Frailty, is thy name really woman? When will the two sexes that make up society achieve mutual respect, and treasure one another? When will light shine into all the dark corners? Or is this just an unattainable dream?
Another story: I have a friend who is getting divorced, with the final straw being that she was beaten. After an argument, her husband tied my friend to a table leg, and gagged her because she wouldn't stop arguing against him. Though they were accustomed to quarreling, and violence was frequent, this was the first time she had ever been tied up. My friend would not tolerate this humiliation, and insisted on divorce. The couple's parents intervened, and the husband promised never to do it again, but who can say whether or not history will repeat itself? Indeed, who knows why couples turn on each other and destroy the happy home they once had?
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the divorce rate in Taiwan is three times what it was twenty years ago. Now, over 90 couples get divorced each day. Upon seeing this news, a male coworker declared: "Fine! Women want their rights? Why don't we just eliminate the marriage system all together? Then everybody will be equal!" Two female coworkers were dumbstruck, and wondered why it is the woman who always gets the blame. Of course, when you think about it, there is a certain logic to blaming the woman: After all, today's women no longer are willing to suffer and even find hanging in to be difficult.
But the real questions should be: Why should a woman have to suffer? If both couples work, who does most of the housework? Who takes charge of the children's education? If the husband has affairs, how bad does it have to get before the wife gives up on him? What is "winning"-getting back a philandering husband? Or divorce with custody of the children and alimony? Family issues call for reflection on both sides. In the modern home, does authority correspond to responsibility? What is a condition of "equal rights" between the sexes? Is there such a thing? And, if all these questions are answered reasonably, is that the same as having a happy home?
Since January we have been working on this special report on women, and are releasing it here on the eve of international Women's Day. The report has two main parts. The first, in the articles "Sexual Crime in Taiwan" and "Who Are Rapists, and Why?," explores a social plague-sexual crime. The second, in the article "The Shifting Balance of Power in Marriage," describes the division of rights and labor in the family. Besides reporting current social phenomena, we conducted a phone survey to see whether men and women have different views on sexual crime and on the division of authority and labor in the home. And we interviewed sociologists, psychologists, and doctors to discuss these questions and to puncture myths.
Interestingly, when preparing the reports we found that there were two commonalities in the responses to the apparently very different subjects of sexual crime and the division of power and labor in the home. First is that, in both cases, power tends to be a more important consideration than sexuality per se. Second, level of education had a very significant impact on the responses of both men and women. Of course, age was also an important factor affecting responses. We hope that today's rapidly changing society can continue to keep a close watch on these genderrelated subjects.
We dedicate this month's cover story to Peng Wanju, Teng Juwen, and all the other members of disadvantaged groups who have suffered in this imperfect society of ours. And we offer our sincere respect to all those in all fields of endeavor who have made contributions to the women's movement.
Finally, with the little remaining space in this editor's note, I will just pass along a special recommendation to read the article on plum flowers, to see how Chinese have been especially fond of these hardy winter blooms, and how they have become part of the soul of the nation.
