A Taiwanese documentary chronicling the later years of Taiwanese women who were forced into sexual slavery during World War II is to hit moviehouses this week to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the end of the Sino-Japanese war.
The 76-minute-long Song of the Reed (蘆葦之歌) was produced by the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation and directed by Wu Hsiu-ching (吳秀菁), an assistant professor at National Taiwan University of Arts.
It documents how some of the “comfort women” in Taiwan overcame grave physical and mental trauma and developed their attitudes toward life over the years, the foundation said, adding that the film focuses on women who attended various workshops organized by the group.
“The documentary portrays the strength of life and courage” demonstrated by the women, foundation executive director Kang Shu-hua (康淑華) said.
It is to start showing in cinemas in Taipei, Taoyuan and Kaohsiung tomorrow.
“It is meaningful” that the film is being screened at a time the nation is marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Kang said.
The film follows six Taiwanese women who have openly spoken of their suffering at the hands of the Japanese, but four of them have died since the completion of filming in 2013, the foundation said.
Recounting the three years she spent filming the women, most of whom were in their 80s, Wu said the process was filled with challenges.
The crew had to cultivate their relations with the a-ma (阿嬤, grandmothers in Hoklo, commonly known as Taiwanese) in the movie, and it took a while for the a-ma to overcome the difficulties.
However, “our hearts finally won the a-ma over with real friendship,” she said.
“The documentary records true stories,” Wu said, urging young people to watch the film “to know more about what happened on our home soil.”
Yoko Shiba, a member of a Japanese advocacy group for comfort women issues, said that having met several Taiwanese comfort women over the years, she was very touched by the documentary and greatly misses those who have passed away.
A granddaughter of one of the comfort women featured in the documentary also attended the event, recalling her grandmother, who passed away in June 2013, as an optimistic person.
The film has been screened in five special showings across the nation, as well as in New York, Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan, the foundation said.
Last year, it won the Best Anthropology Concern Award at the International Gold Panda Awards for Documentary in Chengdu, China.
Song of the Reed is the second film on comfort women produced by the foundation.
More than 2,000 Taiwanese women and many more across Asia were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, the foundation said.
The issue is still a point of contention today between countries in the region — particularly South Korea and China — and Japan.
Over the past two decades, the foundation has been dedicated to helping comfort women cope with their mental anguish and seek compensation from Japan. It has launched many initiatives in this regard, including documentaries, art exhibitions and counseling workshops.
Despite the foundation’s repeated calls for an apology and compensation for the comfort women in protests held every year, the Japanese government has never given them a satisfactory response.
With the assistance of the foundation, a group of Taiwanese comfort women filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government in 1999, which they lost in 2005.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS