Lessons from Formosa

Interesting news from Taiwan - our Chinese neighbors have decided there is one thing that's sorely lacking from the textbooks of their kids: gay information.

No, I don't mean information classifiable as happy and gleeful, such as, perhaps, the Taiwanese decision to split from mainland China. I refer to informative nuggets like why Adam hooks up with Steve, how Mary can be Butch, and why 'flaming' need not necessarily be a verb.

Yes, I refer to gay as in homosexual, a subject that may not have necessarily been thought of as useful, much less helpful, (and in all probability, heretofore deemed harmful) for kids in their formative years.

After a protest outside a Taipei city government building by gay activists, the official government body for education, Taiwan's Ministry of Education, has relented and announced that elementary and high school textbooks would, hoorah, be revised to accommodate gay topics. 

Why the activism? It all came about when a local city council released a memo banning gay rights groups from schools. That sparked the conflict, and of course, the activists did what they were supposed to do and rallied against this stupidity, and got rather more than what they were rallying for with this official government turn-about.

Quoting eTaiwan.news, my favorite Asian site fridae.com reported the Ministry of Education as saying: "Textbooks mentioning gay issues would be introduced in seven study areas from the 2011 school year." "The campaign would seek the support of local governments, schools on all levels and the public at large to guarantee the rights of different gender groups to receive education and to root out discrimination." My favorite quote out of all these quotes said: "Students should be able to grow up happily in an environment of tolerance and respect."

This is certainly welcome news, although as in any government pronouncement, the next thing to watch out for would be how it's going to implement this decision. What kind of information will they be releasing to kids? How explicit should the information be, and how old do these students have to be before they can be 'exposed' to lessons on tolerance?

Maybe they can start with all those shows that the American Christian far-right have been ridiculously ridiculing as subliminally gay. Like Sesame Street's Ernie and Bert, who're roommates who say good night to each other? Or like the Teletubbies, whose softly rotund bodies leave their manliness in question? After getting the sensitive children used to the idea of two men sharing a room, maybe then they can proceed to advanced lessons on how love can be bestowed equally among human individuals.

Of course, that's if they even start implementing this decision. News like this doesn't take long to travel, and alarm the messengers of hate. You can be sure lobby money's going to make their way onto the shores of the island, and used to finance campaigns designed to overturn this Ministry pronouncement. I wouldn't be surprised if another announcement comes out saying the implementation date will be suspended, or even scrapped altogether pending 'further review.'

But that's neither here nor there. The good thing is, there is now precedent in Asia for this approach, and one we should endorse to all the candidates now running for political office. Of course, this is likewise something the now you see it, now you don't, gay political party that is Ladlad can devote its attention to.

You can just imagine the message boards from envious Malaysians and Singaporeans have lit up, wondering when their governments will ever be progressive enough to adopt this same policy. Sign my name onto the list, as I think the Philippines itself is going to take, if not as long as Malaysia, then far behind Singapore, whose borders have opened itself up to the pink dollar. (Although Singaporeans themselves think that will happen when pigs fly.)

For now, it's wait and see. Meanwhile, for those who wish to explore alternative options of teaching life lessons to children, I guess there's always trying to lead exemplary lives.