The Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation yesterday held a memorial for 59 Taiwanese women who were used as “comfort women” for Japanese troops during World War II, and urged the Ministry of Education to include this part of history in the national curriculum.
The meeting was also held to observe International Comfort Women Memorial Day and remember Taiwan’s last comfort woman, who died in May.
In her opening speech, foundation executive director Tu Ying-chiu (杜瑛秋) quoted a Taiwanese comfort woman, who said that they were “deceived into accepting the job because they were under financial pressure.”
Photo: CNA
“She said they felt their bodies were dirty all the time in those days as comfort women. The experience affected their self-identity and resulted in them being discriminated against. We can only hope that the Japanese government will recognize its mistake, apologize and [offer compensation],” Tu said.
Taiwanese should face this era with honesty, view the comfort women system as a serious violation of women’s rights and include relevant records in the nation’s history, Tu said.
The Ministry of Education should also make it necessary to teach elementary, junior-high and high-school students about comfort women, so that they can learn about the importance of women’s rights, she said.
“The government should establish a national women’s rights museum to preserve relevant records and promote human rights education,” Tu added.
The Tainan Comfort Women Human Rights Equality Association also held a memorial ceremony around the city’s statue of an unnamed comfort woman. It is the only comfort woman statue in Taiwan.
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who has been a long-term supporter of causes involving comfort women, attended the ceremony.
Association chairman Tung Shiao-yun (童小芸) said that Taiwanese comfort women had not been fighting for financial compensation, but respect and dignity.
“Japan can settle comfort women issues with South Korea, apologize and agree to establish a foundation to compensate South Korean victims, but what about Taiwanese comfort women? So far, there has not been an official apology and compensation from the Japanese government and leaders. Nevertheless, our determination to pursue truth and justice will never cease,” Tung said.
“Japan and Taiwan simply cannot ignore the unfair treatment that Taiwanese comfort women endured during World War II simply because the two countries have good relations now,” Tung said.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
STRICTER ENFORCEMENT: Taipei authorities warned against drunk cycling after a sharp rise in riding under the influence, urging greater public awareness of its illegality Taipei authorities have issued a public warning urging people not to ride bicycles after consuming alcohol, following a sharp rise in riding under the influence (DUI) cases involving bicycles. Five hundred and seven people were charged with DUI last year while riding YouBikes, personal bicycles, or other self-propelled two-wheelers — a fourfold increase from the previous year, data released by the Taipei Police Department’s Traffic Division showed. Of these, 33 cases were considered severe enough to be prosecuted under “offenses against public safety,” the data showed. Under the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), bicycles — including YouBikes and other
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
RSS