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SCMP Reporter

WOMEN'S magazine Eve has been referred to Hong Kong's morals watchdog body after publishing a guide to oral sex in its latest edition.

 The Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority confirmed yesterday that it had referred the bi-lingual publication to the Obscene Articles Tribunal after receiving several complaints.

 The Graceful Art Of Fellatio, a special sealed supplement inside the magazine, hit the news stands on November 7.

 The investigation began last Friday and the tribunal is due to make a ruling this week.

  But Eve editor Rhonda Palmer maintained the article had not offended public morality, decency or propriety.

 'The only way you could be offended was if you ignored the warning and the seal,' she said.

 'We did seek legal advice before publication, and I am sure we have met the legal requirements.'   Experts in sex education have backed the article as useful and tasteful.

 'This article provides information about what may be done, and I don't see any harm in that,' said Dr Emil Ng Man-lun, a sex therapist at Queen Mary Hospital, senior lecturer in psychiatry at Hong Kong University and president of the Asian Federation of Sexologists.

  'We need more information about AIDS prevention and safer sex. This is a safer-sex alternative to vaginal sex and should be promoted.'  Graham Smith, a spokesman for AIDS Concern, also welcomed the article.

 'Our organisation promotes communication. You need to talk about sex in explicit non-euphemistic terms to get the message about safer sex across. If this article opens up dialogue, that is good.'   Dr Angela Ng Wing-ying, a member of the Hong Kong College of General Practitioners' Public Education Committee, said: 'This article has done women who want information but don't want to go into a shop and buy sex manuals a good turn.'   However, she was concerned that the article did not fully explain that oral sex is only low-risk rather than no-risk behaviour: 'All genital contact can cause infection.' she said.

  Dr Ng felt the article reflected a growing openess in the Hong Kong media towards discussing sex education. 'We are seeing a positive trend,' she said.

  Ms Palmer agreed: 'I think this is part of Hong Kong's growing up. Now people can tune into Pamela Pak Wan-kam's phone-in on Metro FM104, and Hung Chiu-feng on RTHK's Radio 1, 2 and 5.

 'If people didn't want this kind of information, we wouldn't be providing it.'   The maximum penalty for publishing an article judged to be obscene is a $1 million fine and imprisonment for three years.



Morals row over guide to oral sex