Real Naturist of the Year 2008: Pan Ying-hua

Taiwanese writer Pan Ying-hua is the Real Naturist of the Year 2008 for publishing the book “Nude: Ten Years of Conversations with my Body” about the naturist lifestyle amid the restrictions of Taiwanese laws and society.
The book features numerous pictures of Pan and her friends enjoying the naturist lifestyle in the natural setting of their home region of Taitung in Southeastern Taiwan, a sparsely populated area known for its quiet and beautiful coastlines and mountains in a polluted and noisy country.
While not widely available in book stores across Taiwan, the book has received uncharacteristically positive media exposure. Even its many pictures are not designed to titillate, but work to show the naturalness of the naturist lifestyle.
More trailblazers like Pan are needed to give the naturist movement stronger roots in Asia, roots from which a healthier attitude toward natural, non-sexual nudity can grow, and a true naturist movement can arise. The publication of a book like Pan's gives hope that Asian countries like Taiwan will also once host naturist beaches, naturist resorts, and movements that can take part in international organizations like the International Naturist Federation.
You can find Pan's writings in Mandarin Chinese at her blog www.wretch.cc/blog/ibubunu.