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.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the