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.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
RSS