Thu, Aug 14, 2008 page2

• Japan pressured to come clean on comfort women

  NOT FORGOTTEN The US Congress as well as the Dutch, Canadian and European parliaments have all passed motions on the matter. Taiwan could be next

  • By Loa Iok-Sin / STAFF REPORTER
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  As part of a global action, several former “comfort women,” accompanied by women’s and human rights activists, staged a protest near the Japanese representative office in Taipei yesterday, asking the Japanese government to apologize and compensate the victims.
  
  

  “Aug. 15 will mark the 63rd anniversary of Japan’s surrender [ending World War II]. However, the Japanese government has yet to officially apologize or compensate former comfort women,” said Chen Shu-li (陳淑麗), a board member of the Women’s Rescue Foundation.
  
  

  “Comfort women” is a reference to women from countries and regions occupied by Japan — including Taiwan, North and South Korea, China and the Philippines — who were forced to provide sexual services to Japanese soldiers in military brothels during World War II.
  
  

  

  A Taiwanese ‘‘comfort woman’’ holds a fan that reads ‘‘compensation’’ and wears a cap that reads ‘‘Return dignity to me’’ at a protest in front of the Japanese representative office in Taipei yesterday.

  PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, AP

  The demonstrators held placards with slogans asking Japan to apologize, to provide compensation and to include the topic in Japanese textbooks.
  
  

  “The key to ending violence against women is to make those responsible compensate the victims,” said Wang Hsing-chung (王興中), director of Amnesty International (AI) Taiwan.
  
  

  “Worldwide AI organizations have initiated a campaign calling on all its members to pressure their governments to pass resolutions urging Japan to apologize and to compensate former comfort women,” Wang said. “We hope the campaign will create some international pressure on the Japanese government.”
  
  

  So far, the US Congress, the Dutch, Canadian and European parliaments have taken action, and Taiwan could be next.
  
  

  “With several of my colleagues across party lines, we have initiated a resolution asking Japan to recognize such war crimes, educate its people about them and compensate the victims,” Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) told the crowd.
  
  

  “Hopefully, the resolution will be passed during the next legislative session,” she said.
  
  

  Escorted by demonstrators and former comfort women, 82-year-old Lu Man-mei (盧滿妹) presented a protest letter to the Japanese Interchange Association.
  
  

  An unnamed official from the office took the letter, but declined to comment.
  
  

  The protesters then burned a copy of the resolution in memory of former comfort women who have passed away.
  
  

  “Knowing that they have not been forgotten and that people are still fighting for their dignity, we hope their souls may rest in peace after reading the resolution,” Chen said.
  
  

  According to traditional Taiwanese beliefs, burning something is a means of making it available to the deceased.
  
  

  Demonstrators also made a floating water lantern — a small house made with paper and bamboo sticks — for Taiwanese comfort women who died overseas during World War II.
  
  

  Also according to Taiwanese tradition, it is believed that putting floating water lanterns on a river or at sea may guide the wandering souls of those who died away from home or at sea.
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