0:00:00.000,0:00:02.779
A female colleague asked me the other day,

0:00:02.779,0:00:06.033
"What dose it feel like to know[br]that people think you are a weirdo?"

0:00:06.033,0:00:07.382
(Laughter)

0:00:07.835,0:00:12.000
And not wanting to admit that I didn't[br]know people thought I was a weirdo,

0:00:12.000,0:00:15.440
I said: "Well, I think that weirdos[br]look at the world in a different way,

0:00:15.440,0:00:19.078
and they try to see a little bit behind[br]that which everybody accepts."

0:00:19.078,0:00:22.817
So if that's the definition of a weirdo,[br]then I'm happy to be called one.

0:00:23.211,0:00:27.000
So, I arrived in Taiwan 12 years ago,

0:00:27.121,0:00:30.983
and I learned about[br]the thing called "betel nut."

0:00:31.291,0:00:34.091
And I was really surprised[br]and interested in this

0:00:34.091,0:00:37.071
because I'd never come[br]across anything like this before.

0:00:37.101,0:00:42.385
And, for the uninitiated, betel nut[br]is in fact a fruit, it's not a nut.

0:00:42.385,0:00:45.787
It grows on the areca palm tree.

0:00:46.151,0:00:51.234
And it actually is chewed all over Asia.

0:00:51.234,0:00:54.008
It's very popular and very[br]common all over Asia.

0:00:54.681,0:00:55.801
It is a stimulant.

0:00:55.801,0:00:59.841
It contains something called arecoline,[br]which gives you a little bit of a rush.

0:00:59.841,0:01:01.711
Chewing a betel nut is little bit like

0:01:01.711,0:01:05.666
drinking three cups of espresso coffee[br]immediately after each other.

0:01:05.666,0:01:07.076
It needs to be activated,

0:01:07.076,0:01:10.856
so it gets wrapped in a leaf[br]which gives it some taste,

0:01:10.856,0:01:15.476
and then on the inside of the leaf[br]they put some paste -

0:01:15.476,0:01:19.436
a white lime paste which actually[br]activates the active ingredients.

0:01:20.430,0:01:25.080
So, this then is a product[br]which doesn't look like very much.

0:01:25.290,0:01:30.772
So how do you sell this product[br]to people who are driving by your store?

0:01:31.507,0:01:32.511
Right?

0:01:32.781,0:01:35.100
You could stand out there[br]and wave your betel nut

0:01:35.100,0:01:37.490
but I don't think that[br]is going to work, all right?

0:01:37.490,0:01:38.489
(Laughter)

0:01:38.489,0:01:41.370
You could put some[br]bright lights on your store,

0:01:41.370,0:01:43.966
but hey, every store in Taiwan[br]has bright lights on it,

0:01:43.966,0:01:46.336
so that's not going to[br]help very much either.

0:01:46.496,0:01:49.786
So, then somebody about[br]somewhere around the 1980s,

0:01:49.786,0:01:55.222
hit on the idea of getting a pretty girl[br]wearing a skimpy outfit

0:01:55.222,0:01:58.296
to sit by the roadside[br]in your store with the bright lights

0:01:58.296,0:02:04.099
and entice passing drivers to come into -[br]and stop, and buy your betel nut.

0:02:05.099,0:02:07.578
So, when I arrived in Taiwan,

0:02:07.578,0:02:10.086
and I saw these glass boxes[br]by the side of the road

0:02:10.086,0:02:11.737
with pretty girls sitting inside,

0:02:11.737,0:02:12.942
what did I think?

0:02:12.942,0:02:14.405
"Are they prostitutes?"

0:02:14.405,0:02:15.415
(Laughter)

0:02:15.415,0:02:17.243
"Is it so open here in Taiwan?"

0:02:17.243,0:02:18.255
(Laughter)

0:02:18.255,0:02:21.016
That was - Obviously everybody[br]has that thought at first.

0:02:21.016,0:02:23.779
But I asked my foreigner friends:[br]"What is the story here?"

0:02:23.779,0:02:25.889
They say, "No, no,[br]they just sell betel nut,

0:02:25.889,0:02:29.668
they sell drinks, and they sell[br]cigarettes, and nothing else."

0:02:29.668,0:02:31.691
I'm like, "Oh yeah, really. Right."

0:02:31.691,0:02:32.864
(Laughter) OK.

0:02:33.668,0:02:35.805
And when I asked the locals,

0:02:35.805,0:02:37.768
they all said: "Oh, bad girls, bad girls.

0:02:37.768,0:02:40.406
Don't even think about it.[br]Don't even talk about it. OK?

0:02:40.406,0:02:44.878
No. They will do all kinds of things[br]in those betel nut stores of theirs."

0:02:44.878,0:02:47.218
But then I started looking[br]at this, and I thought,

0:02:47.218,0:02:49.088
"How does it work? I don't understand.

0:02:49.088,0:02:52.647
How can a girl sitting in a glass box[br]by the side of the road brightly lit

0:02:52.647,0:02:54.991
actually engage in sexual activity?"

0:02:54.991,0:02:57.228
It doesn't actually make sense.

0:02:57.228,0:03:01.042
And so I thought I wanted[br]to find out more about this.

0:03:01.042,0:03:04.670
Being a documentary filmmaker, [br]I'm interested in how things work

0:03:04.670,0:03:06.765
and how people think [br]and how people operate

0:03:06.765,0:03:08.305
what's going on in the world.

0:03:08.305,0:03:13.559
And so I decided I'm going[br]to look at this subject, research it,

0:03:13.559,0:03:14.792
find out more about it,

0:03:14.792,0:03:19.865
and try and tell this interesting[br]and fascinating and totally unique story.

0:03:20.315,0:03:23.422
But, as any filmmaker will tell you,

0:03:23.422,0:03:27.472
access to your subject[br]is the most important thing.

0:03:27.472,0:03:33.886
And I found it very, very difficult[br]to connect up with the betel nut girls.

0:03:33.886,0:03:35.580
They did not want to talk to me.

0:03:35.580,0:03:36.926
They would generally -

0:03:37.476,0:03:39.595
They actually don't want to[br]talk to anybody.

0:03:39.595,0:03:41.323
They don't want to be photographed.

0:03:41.523,0:03:45.366
They say things like:[br]"It's a shameful job."

0:03:45.366,0:03:49.267
They say things like: "My boss won't[br]let you take photos of me or talk to me."

0:03:49.267,0:03:53.107
Or they say: "My parents or my family[br]doesn't know that I do this job."

0:03:53.397,0:03:57.334
But finally I met one girl[br]by the name of Jane.

0:03:57.334,0:03:58.934
At that time she was called Ada,

0:03:58.934,0:04:02.577
as Taiwanese girls sometimes do,[br]they change their names.

0:04:03.349,0:04:07.619
And she was the first girl to agree[br]for me to take her photo,

0:04:07.619,0:04:10.609
to interview her,[br]to tape her, to record her.

0:04:10.609,0:04:12.765
And it was really a breakthrough for me.

0:04:12.765,0:04:17.209
And I found that she was,[br]in many ways, a typical betel nut girl -

0:04:17.209,0:04:21.117
dropped out of school; was doing[br]this job for several years already,

0:04:21.117,0:04:23.919
complained about being[br]harassed by men, things like that.

0:04:23.919,0:04:26.359
But in many ways she was also[br]against expectations.

0:04:26.359,0:04:28.507
She was very smart,[br]and she spoke really well.

0:04:28.507,0:04:31.434
And she had a very good unstanding

0:04:31.434,0:04:33.824
about exactly what it is that she's doing.

0:04:33.824,0:04:37.984
And in that way she helped[br]to introduce me to this business.

0:04:37.984,0:04:41.546
And that, in fact, is one of[br]the very first photos I ever took

0:04:41.546,0:04:43.793
of a betel nut girl with her consent.

0:04:43.793,0:04:44.882
So, [br](Laughter)

0:04:44.882,0:04:49.131
and that's about 2003 or 2004.

0:04:50.111,0:04:53.678
So I managed to work out a strategy

0:04:53.678,0:04:57.347
for dealing with the betel nut girls,[br]getting them to talk to me.

0:04:57.347,0:04:59.315
I would become a customer first.

0:04:59.315,0:05:02.981
I would buy coffee and cigarettes[br]from them, chit-chat,

0:05:02.981,0:05:06.185
and then if I'd get a feeling[br]that they would be interested to talk,

0:05:06.185,0:05:09.290
I'd get a female, Chinese-speaking[br]assistant to go with me,

0:05:09.290,0:05:12.012
and we go and chat to them[br]and explain to them what I do.

0:05:12.012,0:05:15.062
And I found that when you[br]approach them in that way,

0:05:15.062,0:05:17.727
that all of us, everyone here[br]has a story to tell.

0:05:17.727,0:05:20.982
that's why we are here today, right?[br]because we have a story to tell.

0:05:20.982,0:05:23.701
And if you show a genuine[br]interest in someone's story,

0:05:23.701,0:05:26.854
they will generally[br]be happy to tell it to you.

0:05:27.212,0:05:30.027
So I wanted to make a film.[br]I couldn't get funding for it.

0:05:30.612,0:05:32.831
The government wouldn't [br]give money for a film

0:05:32.831,0:05:36.485
that promotes this part[br]of the Taiwanese culture.

0:05:36.894,0:05:40.946
But eventually it sort of transformed[br]itself into a photography project.

0:05:40.946,0:05:44.382
2007, I had my first photo exhibition.

0:05:44.594,0:05:50.419
And for some reason, that photo[br]exhibition just sort of hit a nerve.

0:05:50.419,0:05:53.873
And the media picked it up[br]and went crazy about it.

0:05:53.873,0:05:57.705
This foreigner, being in Taiwan,[br]and looking at betel nut girls,

0:05:57.705,0:06:01.189
and showing Taiwanese people[br]something about their culture,

0:06:01.189,0:06:03.376
and looking at it in a different way,

0:06:03.376,0:06:04.875
the girls became very famous,

0:06:04.875,0:06:08.595
and the stores down the road complained[br]that I hadn't photographed their girls,

0:06:08.595,0:06:10.689
because these ones are getting more money.

0:06:10.689,0:06:11.695
(Laughter)

0:06:11.695,0:06:13.877
And so it went.

0:06:14.707,0:06:16.940
Discovery did a program on them,

0:06:16.940,0:06:19.914
and National Geographic did some stuff,

0:06:19.914,0:06:22.334
and some of them ended up on TV shows.

0:06:22.554,0:06:24.964
And it was really just interesting.

0:06:24.964,0:06:28.028
As I say, it really just hit a nerve.

0:06:28.028,0:06:30.945
I started to get a very good idea

0:06:30.945,0:06:35.139
about what people in general[br]think betel nut girls are,

0:06:35.139,0:06:36.857
and what the realities are.

0:06:36.857,0:06:39.079
And I found that[br]they are different things.

0:06:39.079,0:06:43.635
And I found that the betel nut girl issue

0:06:43.635,0:06:45.677
has many, many layers;

0:06:45.677,0:06:47.423
it has many, many sides;

0:06:47.423,0:06:49.773
there are no simple and clear answers.

0:06:49.773,0:06:53.194
And those are the kinds of things[br]that I enjoy dealing with,

0:06:53.194,0:06:54.841
and having conversations about.

0:06:54.841,0:06:56.458
It's all about the conversation.

0:06:56.458,0:06:59.836
So let's see, what is[br]the betel nut girls business in?

0:06:59.961,0:07:01.922
Is it prostitution?

0:07:02.586,0:07:05.472
Is it girls who actually[br]are just prostitutes?

0:07:05.472,0:07:07.315
Is the business run by gangsters?

0:07:07.315,0:07:10.133
The girls are all exhibitionists?[br]They all like to show off?

0:07:11.000,0:07:12.255
Or not?

0:07:12.349,0:07:17.242
Is it some deep-seated and long-running[br]culture expression in Taiwan?

0:07:17.536,0:07:19.332
How about female exploitation?

0:07:19.332,0:07:21.908
Are these girls exploited or are they not?

0:07:21.908,0:07:25.818
On the scale of exploitation[br]that perhaps all of us have to deal with,

0:07:25.818,0:07:27.630
where do they fall?

0:07:27.630,0:07:31.098
Is it maybe a form of female[br]empowerment? Who knows?

0:07:31.456,0:07:34.956
Is it just a blight on the landscape[br]and a heath issue, a health problem?

0:07:34.975,0:07:37.210
Is it just a job like any other?

0:07:37.435,0:07:40.229
Or is it actually a form of urban art?

0:07:40.675,0:07:45.688
So, the answer lies somewhere[br]along in that whole spectrum.

0:07:45.688,0:07:47.686
So let's take the first one, prostitution.

0:07:47.686,0:07:48.784
As I mentioned,

0:07:48.784,0:07:52.397
doing business in a glass cage[br]is probably not going to actually happen.

0:07:52.397,0:07:55.752
But I do believe that, in general,

0:07:55.752,0:07:58.412
the business is not, in fact,[br]around prostitution.

0:07:58.412,0:08:01.382
The business is around a pretty girl[br]sitting in a glass cage

0:08:01.383,0:08:04.683
and selling betel nuts girls -[br]betel nut, um -

0:08:04.683,0:08:05.990
(Laughter)

0:08:06.720,0:08:08.556
Freudian slip there -

0:08:08.556,0:08:09.628
(Laughter)

0:08:09.628,0:08:12.567
etc., to passing motorists.

0:08:12.567,0:08:15.131
Is it a business run by gangsters?

0:08:15.131,0:08:18.852
Well, if you asked to take[br]some of those bosses' photos,

0:08:18.852,0:08:21.174
they'll say: "Yeah,[br]but just don't show my face."

0:08:21.174,0:08:23.438
So yes, there are certain elements.

0:08:23.438,0:08:27.918
But I find these days, more and more,[br]the stores are actually run by women.

0:08:28.328,0:08:32.968
So this woman in red is Ada's former boss.

0:08:32.968,0:08:36.231
And she runs the business[br]completely by herself

0:08:36.231,0:08:40.965
together with their Indonesian maid[br]who helps to prepare the betel nut there.

0:08:41.305,0:08:46.139
Some of the other women like May,[br]for instance, manages the store.

0:08:46.139,0:08:48.470
She manages three other girls[br]and the store.

0:08:48.470,0:08:50.111
The boss almost never comes there.

0:08:50.111,0:08:52.274
She's totally in charge[br]of the place there.

0:08:52.274,0:08:58.673
Do the girls have some[br]element of exhibitionism to them?

0:08:58.912,0:09:02.544
So, for sure, girls like to dress sexy.

0:09:02.544,0:09:05.449
They have competitions[br]with each other to be sexy.

0:09:05.449,0:09:09.417
So sometimes, in some places,[br]in some areas they will look like this,

0:09:09.417,0:09:11.028
or they would look like this.

0:09:11.028,0:09:13.280
And then all the girls[br]in the street complain

0:09:13.280,0:09:16.229
because they have to compete against that.

0:09:16.229,0:09:18.376
And they don't like it, all right?

0:09:19.645,0:09:22.361
This, for instance, was quite[br]an interesting incident.

0:09:22.361,0:09:23.850
One of the few times that I saw

0:09:23.850,0:09:26.622
really sort of overt behavior[br]from a betel nut girl,

0:09:26.622,0:09:28.296
because normally they're very prim.

0:09:28.296,0:09:31.101
They're sexily dressed[br]but their behavior is very prim.

0:09:31.449,0:09:34.084
This was during a typhoon[br]about three or four years ago.

0:09:34.084,0:09:36.512
The girls were actually working[br]in the middle of it.

0:09:36.512,0:09:38.604
I stopped and took photos.[br]It was amazing.

0:09:38.604,0:09:41.084
This girl was like jumping[br]up and down all the time,

0:09:41.084,0:09:43.384
and the wind's catching[br]her dress, lifting it up.

0:09:43.384,0:09:45.013
After two or three times I'm like,

0:09:45.013,0:09:47.604
"You're doing it on purpose,[br]aren't you? I could tell."

0:09:47.604,0:09:48.605
(Laughter)

0:09:48.605,0:09:53.404
But, generally speaking, as I say,[br]the manner is actually quite prim.

0:09:53.404,0:09:57.161
It's that balance between being sexy[br]and yet being somehow innocent

0:09:57.161,0:09:59.760
that I think men find interesting too.

0:10:00.264,0:10:01.304
How about culture?

0:10:01.304,0:10:02.364
So Taiwan,

0:10:02.364,0:10:05.406
or betel nut has been used[br]in Taiwan for hundreds of years

0:10:05.406,0:10:06.858
by the Aboriginal people,

0:10:06.858,0:10:12.554
it's a part of their love rituals,[br]marriage rituals,

0:10:12.554,0:10:17.184
and also just simply[br]hospitality, you know.

0:10:17.184,0:10:20.644
When somebody visits your home,[br]you are supposed to give them betel nut.

0:10:21.554,0:10:24.974
And there has been some research done.

0:10:24.974,0:10:29.904
My friend Daniel did his PhD.

0:10:29.904,0:10:33.719
And he had some really[br]interesting information about

0:10:33.719,0:10:35.694
during the Japanese period, for instance,

0:10:35.694,0:10:37.854
betel nut was completely[br]eradicated in Taiwan.

0:10:37.854,0:10:42.911
Only the Aboriginal people[br]could have one or two trees in their area

0:10:42.911,0:10:45.061
to keep going

0:10:45.061,0:10:48.354
because the Japanese [br]wanted to stamp out this habit.

0:10:48.354,0:10:54.434
But after the Japanese left,[br]there was a resurgence in betel nut.

0:10:54.434,0:10:59.391
And it became, to some extent, a very[br]Taiwanese thing to chew betel nut.

0:10:59.391,0:11:01.807
It became part of the Taiwanese culture.

0:11:01.807,0:11:05.044
And even more recently, we have[br]this idea of "Tai-Ke," right?

0:11:05.044,0:11:07.064
which is very Taiwanese.

0:11:07.064,0:11:10.954
It's very earthy; it's very down-to-earth.

0:11:10.954,0:11:14.696
Of course, there's a large group[br]of people who call it low class.

0:11:15.024,0:11:18.444
But people like this guy, for instance,

0:11:18.444,0:11:24.104
he's the chairman of the betel nut[br]business association in Taoyuan area.

0:11:24.612,0:11:26.672
I interviewed him, also from my phone.

0:11:26.672,0:11:32.202
And yeah, he's very typical of that very[br]go-getter, businessman kind of guy,

0:11:32.202,0:11:34.364
and who's prompting[br]his business in everything

0:11:34.364,0:11:36.114
and very proud of being Taiwanese.

0:11:36.114,0:11:40.356
The girls themselves have a certain[br]manner which I find quite interesting.

0:11:41.721,0:11:47.734
Just a little bit of idea from the way[br]they talk, and the way they react.

0:11:47.734,0:11:50.620
(Video) (Chatter)

0:12:01.299,0:12:02.679
(Video ends)

0:12:03.211,0:12:04.781
This is just to show again

0:12:04.781,0:12:07.797
that the betel nut girls can sometimes[br]wear very little clothes

0:12:07.797,0:12:09.591
but can actually be shy.

0:12:09.591,0:12:13.592
And it's also about the boundaries[br]that they set up for themselves.

0:12:13.951,0:12:16.926
I found that these girls[br]very strict, very clear

0:12:16.926,0:12:19.984
about what they're prepared to show,

0:12:19.984,0:12:21.665
and what they're prepared to do,

0:12:21.665,0:12:22.776
and what they're not.

0:12:22.776,0:12:25.688
And for instance,

0:12:25.688,0:12:29.184
Ada, one day, came out[br]of her store when I stopped,

0:12:29.184,0:12:32.284
and she was wearing her usual[br]pretty see-through top,

0:12:32.284,0:12:34.878
so you could see her bra,[br]but with a short skirt.

0:12:34.878,0:12:38.432
And when she stepped out, the wind[br]caught her skirt and sort of blew it up.

0:12:38.432,0:12:41.058
And I thought, you know, nothing of it,

0:12:41.058,0:12:42.758
but she was so ashamed,

0:12:42.758,0:12:47.154
she crouched down[br]with her face in her hands

0:12:47.154,0:12:48.950
because she was so embarrassed.

0:12:48.950,0:12:50.443
I was really surprised by this,

0:12:50.443,0:12:53.677
but I realized that there was[br]a boundary that had been crossed

0:12:53.677,0:12:55.717
in that moment being I stopped there,

0:12:55.717,0:12:59.318
and her skirt blew up[br]so that one could see her underwear.

0:12:59.318,0:13:01.705
And so I found that really interesting.

0:13:01.705,0:13:06.322
The girls have to deal with things like[br]harassment from customers, for sure.

0:13:06.614,0:13:10.326
The guys will talk to them, they'll[br]try to get them to go out with them,

0:13:10.326,0:13:11.454
things like that,

0:13:11.454,0:13:13.216
or will try to touch them sometimes.

0:13:13.216,0:13:17.144
And also, occasionally,[br]some of the girls complain

0:13:17.144,0:13:20.914
that guys will stop their cars and will[br]actually expose themselves to the girls.

0:13:20.914,0:13:25.906
So one of the girls, Shao Wen,[br]has this board on her wall,

0:13:25.906,0:13:27.900
so she will write the registration number

0:13:27.900,0:13:30.266
of any cars of any guys[br]that give her trouble

0:13:30.266,0:13:33.629
so that next time when they come,[br]she just doesn't go out of her stand.

0:13:33.629,0:13:35.805
Most of the stores[br]also have security cameras.

0:13:35.805,0:13:37.247
And the word on the street is,

0:13:37.247,0:13:42.074
if you give a betel nut girl trouble,[br]her boss will see to you.

0:13:42.074,0:13:43.459
(Laughter) And then -

0:13:43.812,0:13:46.559
Shao Wen, who actually[br]also owns her own store,

0:13:46.559,0:13:51.804
also has something else that she can use[br]in case anybody gets frisky,

0:13:51.804,0:13:54.267
though she does say[br]she's never had to use it.

0:13:54.712,0:14:00.143
But then I also like to show[br]a little bit more closely sometimes,

0:14:00.143,0:14:06.587
show the girl and give you[br]the opportunity to stop and look,

0:14:06.587,0:14:08.807
because normally[br]you'd just drive past, right?

0:14:08.807,0:14:11.672
All your interactions[br]with betel nut girl would be fleeting,

0:14:11.672,0:14:13.097
would be just driving past -

0:14:13.097,0:14:16.323
those of you who don't buy betel nuts[br]from betel nut girls.

0:14:16.903,0:14:20.229
So just looking at her[br]and seeing this girl,

0:14:20.229,0:14:22.157
this is like two o'clock in the morning,

0:14:22.157,0:14:24.357
and you can see[br]the hours are getting long.

0:14:24.531,0:14:27.861
It tells you something, it shows you[br]something about the person.

0:14:27.998,0:14:29.725
Then, others, for instance,

0:14:29.725,0:14:32.774
you can see there's a friendliness,[br]there's a happiness -

0:14:32.774,0:14:34.925
I have not met any betel nut girls

0:14:34.925,0:14:38.443
who complain about[br]being coerced into doing this job

0:14:38.443,0:14:41.959
or coerced into wearing[br]clothes in a particular way.

0:14:41.959,0:14:44.102
The turnover in the stores is very high.

0:14:44.102,0:14:47.556
If she doesn't like what her boss[br]wants her to do, then she just goes.

0:14:47.556,0:14:48.922
She goes to the next store.

0:14:48.922,0:14:50.514
There's not a problem with that.

0:14:50.514,0:14:51.805
OK, about the health issue,

0:14:51.805,0:14:53.565
I would just like to say very clearly

0:14:53.565,0:14:56.001
that chewing betel nut[br]is not good for your health.

0:14:56.001,0:15:00.006
It's a very strong part

0:15:00.006,0:15:03.526
of getting esophageal and mouth cancer

0:15:03.526,0:15:04.983
for people who use it a lot.

0:15:04.983,0:15:06.362
You do have to chew it a lot.

0:15:06.362,0:15:09.642
It's not like you chew one and you[br]are going to have cancer tomorrow.

0:15:09.838,0:15:14.152
And especially when combined with[br]cigarettes, it's definitely a major issue.

0:15:16.152,0:15:19.092
So in that part I want to say very clearly

0:15:19.092,0:15:22.622
that I support the troops[br]but I don't support the war.

0:15:22.622,0:15:24.323
My issue is about the girls.

0:15:24.323,0:15:26.793
And most importantly then,

0:15:26.793,0:15:28.102
I just want to say

0:15:28.102,0:15:33.672
when you look at the girl's[br]interaction with the customers there ...

0:15:33.672,0:15:35.282
girls getting bored...

0:15:35.282,0:15:38.102
Oh, of course, I always take[br]some photos to the girls

0:15:38.102,0:15:39.982
to show them or to give to them.

0:15:39.982,0:15:41.092
They like that.

0:15:41.452,0:15:45.672
And - just going to skip through -

0:15:51.252,0:15:52.262
OK.

0:15:52.262,0:15:55.803
And so, I think the conclusion[br]I want to come to

0:15:55.803,0:16:01.792
is that this business[br]has many, many layers,

0:16:01.792,0:16:03.332
and just as with life.

0:16:03.332,0:16:07.226
Somebody asked me before I started,[br]when I was preparing for this,

0:16:07.226,0:16:09.662
they said, "So, what is[br]this idea worth spreading?"

0:16:09.662,0:16:11.977
You know, the TED[br]"ideas worth spreading."

0:16:11.977,0:16:15.392
"What is the idea worth spreading[br]about the betel nut girls of Taiwan?"

0:16:15.392,0:16:17.611
I thought that's actually[br]a very good question.

0:16:17.611,0:16:21.520
And so what I want to say is[br]that in today's world,

0:16:21.520,0:16:26.412
we are living in a world[br]that is increasingly polarized.

0:16:26.412,0:16:30.585
We are constantly being told[br]that things are black or white.

0:16:30.585,0:16:34.718
With the information age,[br]we have more and more information,

0:16:34.718,0:16:37.502
but somehow the conversation[br]is getting lost,

0:16:37.502,0:16:39.512
the nuances is getting lost.

0:16:39.512,0:16:43.449
So, what I do with the betel nut girls[br]is to look at all the layers -

0:16:43.449,0:16:46.681
realize that there's a spectrum[br]from black to white

0:16:46.681,0:16:48.921
on all those issues that I mentioned.

0:16:48.921,0:16:52.948
And it's not all good and all bad[br]on any one of those.

0:16:52.948,0:16:55.815
And I think if we can keep[br]the conversation going -

0:16:55.815,0:16:57.406
I have people come to me and say:

0:16:57.406,0:17:00.095
"I think you should stop[br]taking photos of betel nut girls

0:17:00.095,0:17:03.522
because it's a bad image for Taiwan"[br]or "bad for them" or whatever it is,

0:17:03.522,0:17:05.580
I'm happy to be part of that conversation.

0:17:05.580,0:17:07.791
That conversation doesn't have to end.

0:17:07.791,0:17:10.094
And while we are having conversations,

0:17:10.094,0:17:13.412
we can find the best solutions

0:17:13.412,0:17:16.112
to the problems that face us[br]like climate change,

0:17:16.112,0:17:18.002
like leaking government information,

0:17:18.002,0:17:19.492
like going to war, you know,

0:17:19.492,0:17:21.544
all the things we are dealing with today.

0:17:21.544,0:17:23.625
Because while you[br]are having a conversation,

0:17:23.625,0:17:25.942
while you are talking,[br]you cannot swing a sword.

0:17:25.942,0:17:31.743
So, I'd like to invite all of you[br]to consider the grey areas.

0:17:31.743,0:17:34.517
Consider all the lovely layers[br]that there are in the world

0:17:34.517,0:17:37.768
and not just accept[br]the given on any one side.

0:17:37.768,0:17:39.846
And let's all be "weirdos" together.

0:17:39.846,0:17:40.850
Thank you.

0:17:40.850,0:17:42.616
(Applause)