The art of tattooing has been practised for centuries worldwide. But how do you feel when you meet someone who has tattoos? That he's a bad guy from a criminal organisation? Or someone who has been in prison? Many people, especially traditionalists, feel this way.
I don't think a tattoo is automatically a bad sign. I think tattooing is a kind of creative art. Moreover, a person's tattoo may tell you how he feels about the people and things around him. In addition, tattoos often serve as symbols of love, social status, religious or spiritual devotion, and decorations for bravery.
So, people get tattoos for many different reasons. We should try to see things from another angle - things are not always as they seem.
Chow Pak-kwan, The Chinese Foundation Secondary School
From the Editor
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Pak-kwan. Tattoos are a very popular form of body modification. It is also true that tattoos have a negative image - they are common among gang members, for example, and were given to Jews by the Nazis in concentration camps.
