The government yesterday reiterated its demand that Tokyo issue an apology to Taiwanese women who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II, euphemistically known as “comfort women,” and to offer them compensation.
“The Republic of China has always said that Japan should apologize to Taiwanese comfort women and offer them compensation,” President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said at a ceremony to promote military officers, adding that the government’s stance has never changed.
Later in the day, Ma asked Representative to Japan Shen Ssu-tsun (沈斯淳) to conduct immediate negotiations with the Japanese government and demand that Tokyo give Taiwanese comfort women the same treatment it offered South Korean victims, Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信) said.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
Ma’s appeal came a day after Japan and South Korea reached a deal in Seoul, under which Japan agreed to apologize and give about ￥1 billion (US$8.3 million) to a foundation set up by the South Korean government for comfort women.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued an apology to the comfort women later on Monday on behalf of his country.
Chen said Ma has expressed concern about the issue since serving as minister of justice two decades ago.
Since taking office in May 2008, Ma has paid five visits to some of the surviving Taiwanese comfort women and held three meetings with them at the Presidential Office, Chen added.
Ma said that in August he expressed the hope that Tokyo would “do more and do better” in dealing with its World War II legacy, especially on the issue of comfort women, after Abe expressed remorse for Japan’s wartime aggression in a speech marking the 70th anniversary of the war’s end.
Soon after news of the Seoul deal surfaced on Monday, Taiwan asked Japan to respond positively to Taiwan’s demands over the comfort women issue.
Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) said at a separate news conference yesterday that Taiwan’s representative office would continue to negotiate with the Japanese government over the issue.
Taiwan would also closely watch the developments following the Japan-South Korea deal, he said.
In 1992, the government set up a cross-agency task force to tackle comfort women-related issues, and Lin said he hoped the task force could meet again to present clear parameters for the nation’s appeal, including a method of compensation that would be acceptable to all parties.
According to the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation, which offers assistance to Taiwanese comfort women, about 2,000 Taiwanese were forced into becoming sex slaves during World War II.
A total of 58 have come forward to ask for compensation and demand a formal apology from Japan; only four are still alive, it said.
Despite the foundation’s repeated calls for an apology and compensation for the comfort women in its annual protests, Japan has never given them a positive response.
With the assistance of the foundation, a group of Taiwanese comfort women filed a lawsuit in Tokyo against the Japanese government, but they lost in 2005.
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