Regarding the suicide of Miss Zhao, there has been considerable discussion in recent days. I too have offered some brief commentary, which appeared in this city's *Ta Kung Pao*.

This is a public event for all humanity. Except for those who advocate extreme individualism and celibacy, everyone should pay attention to it and study it.

In our country, women in particular should give it even greater attention and study.

For in our country, because of thousands of years of improper ritualistic teachings and customs, women have no place in any respect.

From politics, law, and education to profession, social intercourse, entertainment, and titular status, they are entirely separated from men and treated differently, forced to retreat into the dark corners of society where, apart from being denied happiness, they also endure much inhumane abuse.

At a time when truth shines brightly and the cry for women's liberation is raised high, the occurrence of such an event where someone is driven to take her own life reveals the profound and entrenched degree of sin in our society.

Now, rather than lavishing further lament upon the dead, it is better to investigate a method to strike at the root and stem the source, so that similar tragedies will not happen again in the future.

Yet before investigating the method, we should also trace the root cause of why they are subjugated.

Let us think: why is it that women are bullied by men, unable to turn their fate around for millennia?

On this point, we must ask: what deficiencies do women actually have?

On the surface, women's knowledge is lower than men's, their will is weaker than men's. Women are rich in emotion; where emotion flourishes, knowledge and will atrophy. These are the psychological areas where they fall short of men.

Also, their bodies are somewhat weaker; coupled with the agony of foot-binding, walking is difficult. These are women's physiological deficiencies. Yet, in reality, these are not fundamental deficiencies. Generally speaking, women's psychological functions are not far removed from men's.

Education in various countries, lacking gender differentiation, has already proven this through its achievements.

As for the latter two matters — physical weakness is the result of habit, and bound feet have never been an ancient practice — they are insufficient to be considered fundamental physiological deficiencies.

The search for a fundamental deficiency in female physiology leads solely to the matter of childbirth.

The relationship between men and women, according to modern advocacy, should center on "romantic love." Outside of romantic love, it cannot be controlled by "economics."

Thus, the modern proposition is: "Economic independence for each; romantic love for children held in common." Before modern times, this was not so. No one knew of the principle called "the sanctity of romantic love." Between men and women, romantic love was merely considered an accessory; the central relationship remained in economics — that is, it was dominated by capitalism.

Thus, in ancient times, when food was not abundant, but people sustained themselves by picking fruits and hunting fresh game that was easy to fill the stomach, men and women occupied a position of equality. In terms of economics, women had nothing they needed to seek from men, and men had nothing they needed to seek from women. What men and women sought lay only in "romantic love." Therefore, women could sometimes use their physiological strengths (according to physiologists, in sexual physiology, women are stronger than men) to subdue men.

Later, when the population increased, food became insufficient, and the struggle for existence compelled people to emphasize work. It was only then that women truly reached their fatal deadline of being conquered by men.

Women, using their physical strength for work, were originally not inferior to men. Yet they could not work during the period of childbirth. Men seized upon this weakness, exploited the gap and took advantage of the opportunity, making "submission" the condition of exchange and enticing them with "food."

This is the general reason why women are oppressed and unable to turn their fate around.

On the one hand, what human is not born of woman? Woman's act of childbirth is the very element by which humankind unceasingly continues. That men could forget this overwhelmingly great benevolence, and, merely on account of petty economic relations, falsely claim virtue and impose oppression — this is truly what is called repaying kindness with enmity.

On the other hand, the event of childbirth is an event of utmost pain and suffering. The phrase "difficult labor" is one that every woman, upon hearing, is alarmed in her heart. Apart from the possibility that medical inventions might transform "difficult labor" into "easy labor," we should express the utmost reverence and compassion. How can we, on the contrary, exploit trivial economic favors to carry out oppression?

Based on the above "reasoning," we can now proceed to discuss the "method."

A rough summary of the methods for enabling women to be free and independent, no longer subject to male oppression, can be listed as follows.

(1) Girls absolutely must not marry before their bodies are fully grown.

(2) Before marriage, women must prepare sufficient knowledge and skills for supporting themselves in life, taking this as the minimum unit.

(3) Women must themselves prepare living expenses for after childbirth.

The three points above are the fundamental conditions for a woman's individual self-reliance.

Beyond these, there is one further condition: "public childcare," a matter to which society should pay great attention.

If women on their part can fulfill the three points above, and if on the social side there exist facilities for public childcare, then the marital relationship centered on the principle of romantic love can be established.

This depends on the efforts of us young men and women.