Exhibition: Her History in Taiwan

From Focus Taiwan:

Taipei, April 2 (CNA) It may be hard to imagine today, but 100 years ago in Taiwan, more than half the local women had their feet bound and were kept at home, and some were sold as commodities.

A reminder of those hardships can now be seen at an exhibition at Academia Sinica in Taipei that offers a unique look into the lives of Taiwanese women and the evolution of their roles in society up to 1950 -- from a female point of view.

Titled "Her History in Taiwan, " the exhibition shows how women lived, struggled and transformed their lives through a collection of marriage papers, contracts, photographs, diaries, and personal items selected from the digital archives of Academia Sinica's Institute of Taiwan History, the exhibition's organizer.

The Bone Collector

From IOL News:

Like many Taiwanese teenage girls, Lee You-fang likes to sing pop songs and play with her pet dog, but she has an unusual job: working with the bones of the dead.

For five years, 19-year-old Lee has honed her craft as a “bone collector,” assisting her father in an ancient funerary rite that involves collecting, cleaning and arranging human skeletons for reburial.

She began working full-time after graduating from high school last year, following in the footsteps of her great-grandfather who started the family business eight decades ago.

Bone collecting is linked to a belief that the feng shui of ancestral graves will affect the lives of the descendants and that a reburial can help turn around luck in difficult times.

Taiwan: Women Not Convinced About Marriage

From the Taipei Times:

A large percentage of Taiwanese women doubt they would be happier after getting married, according to the results of a survey released by the Ministry of Education (MOE) yesterday.

The survey, conducted between May 31 and June 9, polled 1,468 people over age 18; 749 female, 543 unmarried and 639 under the age of 39.

Of the females, 50.1 percent said they would not be happier if they were married, while only 39.5 percent thought married people are happier than those who stay single.

Of the unmarried, 40.3 percent said life would be better if they were married and 31 percent agreed that married people are generally happier.

Of the respondents under 39, 46.1 percent thought they would have a better life if they were married. Less than 40 percent of these young respondents believed married people are generally happier.

Taiwan: Rise of Single Women

From the Wall Street Journal:

With one of the world's lowest birth rates, Taiwan faces the prospect of a rapidly aging population without a young workforce to support it. The government is scrambling for solutions, with experts pushing measures such as workplace day care, tax breaks for parents and generous maternity leave. But for a generation of Taiwanese women who embraced higher education (more women than men have college degrees) and demanding careers, the age-old stigma of being unmarried has given way to a celebration of single life that government incentives won't easily overturn.

Thai Businesswomen Honoured

From Taiwan Today:
"Seven women in southern Taiwan’s Chiayi County were honored Sunday for their innovative business strategies and their efforts to promote local specialty products.

The awards ceremony was organized by a local women’s rights promotion association as part of March 8 Women’s Day celebrations. An association spokeswoman said that all the award winners are hard working, perseverant, creative and independent thinkers."

Those honoured were:
* Lin Lu, head of Rice Garden Co.
* Lai A-miao, a tea promoter
* Yang Su-chen, an orchid master
* Liao Li-chia, a kumquat master
* Lu Mei-hsiu, who has a master’s degree in business administration and raises stud boars
* Lu Yang Hsiu-mei, head of the 118-year-old Ching Chang Li Food Enterprise
* Huang A-chia, known for developments in aquaculture

Taiwan Women Target UN

From the Taipei Times:

"Because the UN refuses to allow Taiwan to be a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), a number of the nation’s women’s groups have decided to write their own alternative report.

CEDAW was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979, and currently has 185 signatory countries.

All signatory countries are required to submit a report on their status of women, gender equality and efforts to eliminate discrimination every four years.

Although former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) signed the convention last year, Taiwan is not a CEDAW member because it is not a member of the UN General Assembly.

Unable to submit a country report, a number of Taiwanese women’s groups have decided to write an alternative report as a non-governmental organization (NGO) instead.

They formally inaugurated a report-writing panel composed of representatives from several women’s groups yesterday.

“Due to the political reality, it’s quite difficult for us to interact with the international society as a country, but we NGOs can always play an alternative role in letting the world sees us,” Cynthia Kao (高小晴), executive director of the Women’s Rescue Foundation and a member of the writing panel, told a press conference.

Garden of Hope Foundation executive director Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容) agreed.

“China cannot and should not boycott activities by NGOs in Taiwan for political reasons,” she said.

Chi pointed out that Taiwan’s first alternative CEDAW report will focus on sexual violence and human trafficking.

While the UN is unlikely to accept the alternative report, Eva Richter, a representative of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women to the UN, praised it as a good move."