From: lxh5294@utarlg.uta.edu   Date: 12/05/96
Subject: The Cry for a Secure Society for Women (fwd)
____________________________________________________________
Dear friends who care about Wan-ru's death:
If you are willing to sign, please email your name
to--lxh5294@utarlg.uta.edu
And we will collect all the endorsement and send our
sorry and concern to Taiwan.
Thanks!
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          The Death of a Leading Feminist Advocate
           The Cry for a Secure Society for Women

   We are deeply saddened to express our  sorry  of  the tragic
death of a leading feminist activist in Taiwan, Winnie Wan-ru
Pong, the  director of Department for Women Development in
Democratic Progressive Party. The result of  a rape and murder,
her body with thirty five stab wounds, was found  two days after
her missing.

   Ms. Wan-ru Pong, 47, had devoted most of her life to women's
movement in Taiwan. She used to be the general secretary of
Awakening, the first feminist organization in Taiwan, in the year
1988 to 1989. She was also the founder and member of the board of
directors in several distinguished feminist grass-root organiza-
tions, including Housewives Association (zhu3-fu4-lian2-mong2),
Foundation for Women Rescue(fu4-nu3-jiu4-yuan2-yi1-jin1-huei4),
and Late-Spring Association (wan3-qing2-xie2-huei4).  In her
struggle to improve women's rights, she then identified the main
impediments for Taiwan women movement as having to do with a
politically powerless status of women. For that reason, she
relocated herself into an unfamiliar political domain by joining
the DPP and by presiding over the Department of Women Development
three years ago.
 
End Violence and  Violence Against Women

   Our heart's are full of rage and sadness as we think of her
struggle with the rapist and killer. And the irony that she, as
a foremost fighter for women's rights, became a victim of rape,
the most demeaning form of crime against women, further deepens
our sorrow and pain. As women, we feel her
death symbolized the violation  of  bodies of all the women.  

        We are  aware that many rapes  and murders go unreported,
unpublicized  in cities throughout our beloved country. There
seems to be no safe place for women. We want to be safe in our
daily lives and safety means preventing violence, especially
violence against women. The subject of sexual violence is always
women, and this fact deeply affects the way women behave, perceive,
and live. Yet only women's awareness alone cannot resist this crime.
It is time for our whole society to work together to fight against
violence against women. It is also time for us to examine our
society  where men are taught and encouraged to be sexually
aggressive. Here, we want to remind all those who are grieving this
tragic incident: Sexual assault is not simply a personal or
individual act. It is socialized behavior. If we don't take action
to change our society and our own attitude, we are afraid there
will be another female victim, as Wan-ru, who can't continue to
pursue her dream, another husband who loses his beloved wife, and
more children who lose their caring mother.

   We should show our care, our concern, our love. We should also
show our power, our strength, and our determination. Here, we call
people not only to pressure our government to take action to offer
women a safer environment but also to examine the way how our
society encourage men to be sexually aggressive and violent. The
loss cannot be forgotten; We can't let her die in silence. The best
way to commemorate our sister Wan-ru, is to continue to pursue her
dream. Therefore, we urge people to support the proposal initiated
by our friends to establish the Women's Right Day (Wan-Ru Memorial
Day) on the last Sunday of every  November. Her fight for women's
rights should be held in memory to inspire each of us to continue
the dream of gender equality in Taiwan.

 1996 Taiwan Women Camp Committee
 
(Thanks for Jim-qui Liao and Ming-jun Gu's help in writing and
gathering Wan-ru's  biography)
**Individuals and organizations are invited to add their names to
  this statement and to pass it around widely. Please return a
  copy or your name to lxh5294@utarlg.uta.edu

**If you support the proposal of the establishment of Women's
  Right Day, you can go to sign in the web site:
  http://www.taiwanese.com/peng
  Or we will  collect your signature and send to the friends
  (Chang Lin, Haung etc.).