The Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation yesterday marked Human Rights Day by donating the original reels for the documentary A Secret Buried for 50 Years (阿媽的秘密) to the Taiwan Film Institute.
Directed by Yang Chia-yun (楊家雲), the 1998 film tells the stories of 13 “comfort women” in Taiwan, the foundation said.
It was the first time that Taiwan’s comfort women spoke about their experiences in front of a camera, it said.
Photo: CNA
Funded by the foundation, the film won best documentary at the 35th Golden Horse Awards.
The foundation decided to donate the original reels to the institute to ensure they are preserved more professionally, it said.
At a ceremony held at the Ama Museum in Taipei’s Datong District (大同), foundation president Theresa Yeh (葉德蘭) said she hopes the donation will allow more people to see the pain brought by war.
The institute is “honored” to accept the donation, institute director Wang Chun-Chi (王君琦) said, adding that one of the institute’s important missions is to ensure that history is not forgotten.
Yang said 14 women had originally agreed to appear in the documentary, but one of them changed her mind after filming was completed, because she felt she would not be able to face her friends and family after the film was released.
For the other women, the filming process provided a form of release, she said, adding that they felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from their hearts.
More than 20 years have passed since the film was released, but the women have yet to receive the justice they deserve, Yang said.
“We can forgive ... but we cannot forget what happened,” she said.
“We must continue to fight for the justice [the comfort women] deserve,” she said. “We must continue to protest with the Japanese government ... for them to apologize.”
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious