On the 67th anniversary of Japan’s surrender to the Allies, ending World War II, more than 100 people demonstrated outside the Interchange Association, Japan, in Taipei yesterday, urging Japan to apologize for forcing Taiwanese women to serve as “comfort women” during the war.
Holding placards demanding that the Japanese government apologize for using comfort women, photographs of Taiwanese comfort women and five wheelchairs that represent former comfort women who were unable to attend the demonstration, more than 100 demonstrators chanted slogans as they marched from Zhongxiao E Road to Japan’s representative office in Taiwan, located on Qingcheng Street.
“It’s been 20 years since former Taiwanese comfort women started their campaign to demand an apology from the Japanese government. At the time, there were 58 former comfort women, but now, only nine are still alive,” Taipei City Women’s Rescue Foundation executive director Kang Shu-hua (康淑華) said. “How long do they have to wait for justice to be served? Will they really see justice in their lifetimes?”
Photo: Chien Jung-feng, Taipei Times
Kang said that while some former comfort women had taken part in demonstrations in past years, none were able to attend this year because their health was too fragile.
Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Lin Shih-chia (林世嘉) and Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Yi-chen (吳宜臻) also took part in the demonstration.
“It isn’t shameful to recognize the mistakes of the past,” Lin said. “The former comfort women are now in their 80s or 90s. Their youth was destroyed by you [Japan], they deserve a formal apology from you.”
Wu accused the government of not helping former comfort women.
“President Ma Ying-jeou [馬英九] met with former comfort women in June and heard their call for help. Why hasn’t he said anything yet?” Wu asked. “We demand that the government defend the rights of Taiwanese nationals.”
Masahiko Sugita, Economic Affairs Director of the Japanese representative office, accepted a letter of complaint from the demonstrators and promised to forward the letter to the appropriate party.
When Sugita stepped out of the office, the crowd started to shout “apologize.” As Sugita returned into the office with the letter without responding to the crowd, they tore up small Japanese military flags.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
RSS