President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) promised on Sunday to assist Taiwanese “comfort women” in their legal efforts to obtain reparations from Japan.
During a call on one of the surviving “comfort women” in Taiwan, the president said his government would provide legal assistance to war victims seeking compensation and an apology from the Japanese authorities.
The 86-year-old woman, Lu Man-mei (盧滿妹) of Hsinchu County, was one of those who were forced to provide sexual services to Japanese soldiers during World War II.
She is one of 13 surviving “comfort women” in Taiwan. In 1999, nine of the Taiwanese women filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government, but it was dismissed by the Japanese Supreme Court in 2005.
During Ma’s visit, Lu showed him photos of herself when she was young. She had been working in a laundry until recently, but got hurt just before the Lunar New Year holiday and has not been able to return to work since then, she said.
During World War II, the Japanese army forced at least 400,000 women in China, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines into prostitution.
In Taiwan, the number of victims is estimated at between 1,200 and 2,000, but only 58 have been confirmed as war victims by the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation.
Most of the 13 surviving “comfort women” in Taiwan live alone and suffer from diseases related to uterus damage, according to the foundation.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
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