A Special Club For Women

[from The China News, 26 May 1991]

On February 23, 1990, the first lesbian group in Taiwan was started. Its name is Wo Men Zhi Jian (Between Ourselves).

The first task of the founders after starting was to network and start letting other lesbians know about the group. They got a post office box in Taipei (number 10464) to give women a way to Contact the group. Roberta, one of the members, went to the Asian Lesbian Conference in Thailand in December 1990.

Wo Men Zhi Jian has managed to get some friendly articles published in the local press, though it also faces some pressure from more hostile reporters. In January 1991 the organization published its first newsletter. Wo Men Zhi Jian currently has more than 100 women on its mailing list. The group has had a number of wide-ranging discussions about what its goals are and should be. After a lot of talk among themselves, members Roberta, Benetton and Mary identified the following as the group’s current goals:

First and foremost, Wo Men Zhi Jian is a support group for lesbians. It provides a place for lesbians to meet, talk and socialize with other lesbians.

Second, the group provides a forum for cultural activities. These include reading and discussing books, seeing films together and discussing lesbian identity.

Finally, depending on how the organization develops, it may turn to more public goals. This would include pursuing equal rights and treatment in the political process, law, marriage and the mass media.

Wo Men Zhi Jian is still going through its early growing years and what it will eventually become and accomplish is still unclear. Nonetheless, its very existence in a country with a still young feminist movement and a gay male political movement that consists of one man (Chi Chia-wei) is in itself remarkable.