wfn.org | Taiwan's Betel Nut Beauties: Under Pressure from All Sides

[Taiwan Church News <pctpress@ms1.hinet.net>]

Taiwan Church News 2643, October 27, 2002
Reported by Li Hsin-ren.  Translated and rewritten by David
Alexander

In recent months the American Cable News Network (CNN) has more
than once featured the phenomenon of "Betel Nut Beauties" as part
of its Taiwan coverage.  These young women sell the mildly
narcotic palm fruit that is a popular "chew" among working class
Taiwanese men. They utilize partial (and increasingly less
partial) nudity to attract customers to the roadside stands where
they ply their trade.
Time and again the issue of their vesture has come up in the
local (and international) media. In one county in the North of
Taiwan a regulation was passed requiring coverage of the "three
B's" (breasts, buttocks and bellies).  But the brouhaha about
uncovered skin has obstructed a view of the deeper social
situations behind the trade.  Complex realities of gender
inequality, education, family and economy go unplumbed.
The Garden of Hope Foundation (GOH), a church-related NGO that
focuses on the sexual exploitation of women in Taiwan, has branch
offices all over the island.  Its Kaohsiung/Pingtung regional
office in the far South recently surveyed 50 cases of girls under
18 years old who were cited for working illegally in Betel Nut
stands.  It turns out that one third of them were considered the
prime wage earners in their families.  All manner of alternative
family arrangements were found in their background.  Fully one
third came from homes where there has been a parental divorce,
and a further 16% from single parent households.  In 20% of the
cases either the father or mother had remarried, or the children
had been sent for outsiders to raise.
Financial strictures in these families thrust girls with earning
potential onto the job market.	Some leave home completely,
becoming independent because they can earn a living.
Compensation varies.  A 25 year old "spicy sister in charge" at a
Betel Nut stand on Hong Ping Road in Kaohsiung County, who goes
by the nickname of A-mei, reported that the base salary is
between 18,000 and 20,000 Taiwan Yuan per month. (US$514
to$571).  Commissions increase the take home pay.  An additional
100 Yuan (US$2.85) is given for each 2,500 betel nuts sold.  In a
good month a girl can earn between US$855 and $1,140.  The recent
shrinking economy has kept most of them closer to their base
salary.  Payroll deductions are made for coming to work late or
talking on a cell phone while on duty.
Even with the low earnings, girls are expected to dress and smile
seductively to attract business.  At some stands the base pay is
augmented by as much as 2000 yuan per month for girls who are
willing to wear more revealing outfits.  This inducement, plus
the commission for increased sales, has resulted in some wearing
little at all.	A GOH social worker said, "Betel nut beauties are
controlled and abused by their employers and they don't
necessarily even realize what is happening."
The economic drive to enter the trade comes from the child labor
laws.  Young people under 18 in Taiwan who have only finished
middle school find it hard to get legitimate jobs.  Pretty girls
can find work at stands that line the roads outside (and
sometimes inside) Taiwan's teeming cities.  Low income families,
where the parents are employed casually or in seasonal
agricultural work, are sources for many of the young women.  If
the parents cannot find jobs, the daughter is sent out. In many
families there is no opposition to a daughter becoming a Betel
Nut Beauty. In fact, in some families they are encouraged to go
find a stand.
The girls themselves often report how good their bosses are to
them, citing advances against their commissions that are paid
back gradually.  The bosses, aware that employee turnover can be
high, use these loans to tie the girls into long term contracts.
Families are abettors in the degradation of their daughters.  A
Mr. Chen, from Lin Bian Township in Pingtung County happily
shared, "My daughter sells betel nut and brings home 18,000 Yuan
every month.  I only take 10,000 of it from her."  He blames the
bad economy for his own inability to earn much, and is happy that
his daughter can bring in an income.  He doesn't care much how
she gets the money, just so long as she "doesn't learn to do
bad."  But his daughter is only 17, and under the law that
persons under 18 cannot be involved in retail sales of tobacco,
alcohol or betel nut, she has received six citations.  The stand
where she works has also been raided for selling smuggled
cigarettes, so she was involved in a more serious legal offense
and has been charged in the district court.
 Mr. Chen boasted of his daughter, saying,, "She owns all her own
clothes."  His praise was delivered in ignorance of the fact that
this young girl, besides being under charges at the court, was
also two months pregnant.
GOH social workers note that many girls, in their complex family
and work situations, take up smoking at an early age.  The stands
are open 24 hours, so girls take turns on rotating 8 hour shifts.
They spend their off work hours at Karaoke parlors and pubs.
Recreational drugs are part of the environment.  They move from
the fringes of the sex trade into its mainstream in an effortless
slide.	Lives are stripped of hope at an early age.  When they
encounter lost love and economic hardships, they move at a higher
than usual rate towards suicide.
The foundation promises to speak loud and often about the issue,
lobbying the government to do something about youth employment
opportunities and to increase vocational training subsidies.
Basic protection for young people is also necessary to reduce the
attractiveness of the Betel Nut Beauty option for young women.
Ms. Chi Huei-young, the foundation's director of operations,
said, "Looking at this from the standpoint of Christian faith, we
must be concerned.  We must attempt to understand the basic roots
of these girls' situations and avoid letting the mass media
images mislead us into criticizing the girls while ignoring the
social realities that drove them to this work."  She calls for
the uncovering of those behind the stands, behind the trade,
behind the scenes.  The businesspeople who earn their livings off
of the girls must be brought to the fore.  The media focus on the
"spicy sisters" aspect of the problem ignores the violation of
these young women's bodily sovereignty.
  Ms. Chi said, "Christians must oppose the use of girls'
physical charm as a commercial commodity. When this is the main
aspect of a news feature, we should be on the phone to the
broadcasters, telling them to stop this sort of programming.  We
must also get involved in promoting public welfare groups and
movements that support young women.  By these means we will be
able to raise the level of Taiwan's popular culture
legitimately."-

For more information: Garden of Hope www.goh.org.tw

Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Chinese.
Visit our web site: www.pctpress.com.tw