my $characters = sub {
    my $data = $_[0];
    if ($data =~ /[\&\<\>]/) {
      $data =~ s/\&/\&amp\;/g;
      $data =~ s/\</\&lt\;/g;
      $data =~ s/\>/\&gt\;/g;
    }
    &{$escapeEncoding}($data);
    $output->print($data);
    $hasData = 1;
  };