The Ama Museum, which is dedicated to Taiwanese women who were pressed into sexual slavery during World War II, is to close it doors on Tuesday next week due to unsustainable operational losses, but it plans to reopen in a new location in April next year, the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation said yesterday.
The museum, located in a nearly 200-year-old two-story building in Taipei’s historic Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area, was established in 2016 and is dedicated to preserving and commemorating the history of Taiwanese “comfort women” and highlighting women’s rights.
More than 2,000 Taiwanese women are estimated to have been forced into sexual slavery in areas occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army during the war, the museum said.
Photo provided by Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation
Ama is an honorific term that many Taiwanese use to address their grandmothers and is also used to address older women in general.
The museum documents the stories of 59 Taiwanese amas — survivors of the comfort women system who after the war came forward to give testimony.
Foundation chief executive officer Tu Ying-chiu (杜瑛秋) said that the museum posted a loss of more than NT$4.07 million (US$140,947) last year, and more than NT$2.67 million in the first nine months of this year.
“The museum had cut expenses — from a monthly average of about NT$950,000 last year to about NT$600,000 this year, but then the number of visitors significantly dropped due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.
Tu said that the museum had 9,065 visitors last year, but only 1,414 visitors from January to June this year, and the numbers only went up after the foundation in July announced to close the museum.
After initial difficulties finding a new location, the foundation last week signed a rental contract for a 60 ping (198m2) unit in an office building on Chengde Road, she said.
The foundation last month launched a crowdfunding campaign with a goal of raising NT$3 million to relocate the museum, but has since reduced the target to NT$2 million, Tu said.
“The women’s stories are part of the nation’s history, so we must pass them down,” foundation president Theresa Yeh (葉德蘭) said.
Tu said that the museum plans to publish a book next year to showcase the stories through conversations between a granddaughter and her ama, to spark readers to reflect on discrimination.
The book would target young readers, from third-grade elementary-school students upward, Tu added.
Upon reopening, the museum would also introduce new thematic exhibitions, she said.
The museum hopes to further reach out to junior and senior-high schools to share the stories of the amas and discuss human rights issues, she added.
Aftershocks from a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 3:45pm yesterday could reach a magnitude of 5 to 5.5, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Seismological Center technical officer Chiu Chun-ta (邱俊達) told a news conference that the epicenter of the temblor was more than 100km from Taiwan. Although predicted to measure between magnitude 5 and 5.5, the aftershocks would reach an intensity of 1 on Taiwan’s 7-tier scale, which gauges the actual effect of an earthquake, he said. The earthquake lasted longer in Taipei because the city is in a basin, he said. The quake’s epicenter was about 128.9km east-southeast
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
The New Taipei City Government today warned about the often-overlooked dangers of playing in water, and recommended safe swimming destinations to cool off from the summer heat. The following locations in the city as safe and fun for those looking to enjoy the water: Chienshuiwan (淺水灣), Baishawan (白沙灣), Jhongjiao Bay (中角灣), Fulong Beach Resort (福隆海水浴場) and Sansia District’s (三峽) Dabao River (大豹溪), New Taipei City Tourism and Travel Department Director-General Yang Tsung-min (楊宗珉) said. Outdoor bodies of water have variables outside of human control, such as changing currents, differing elevations and environmental hazards, all of which can lead to accidents, Yang said. Sudden
RSS