The government should increase pressure on Japan to offer compensation and apologies to Taiwanese “comfort women,” using the legal basis of the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例), former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday.
Yesterday marked the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre, when 50,000 Japanese Imperial Army soldiers entered the Chinese city after an eight-day defensive battle, Ma said, adding that it for six weeks indulged in systematic rape, pillage and raiding of the city.
More than 30,000 civilians were killed, one-third of the city was burned down and more than 10,000 women were raped, Ma added.
The incident was condemned by many nations and the Japanese government reacted by establishing “comfort women” centers to satisfy the sexual needs of its soldiers, Ma said.
Between 1937 and 1945, the Empire of Japan established more than 1,000 such centers, drafting women from Taiwan, China, Korea, the Philippines and Indonesia to become “comfort women,” using extortion, kidnapping and threats, Ma said.
There were 200,000 “comfort women” each from China and Korea, while between 1,200 and 2,000 were from Taiwan, Ma said, adding that more than 70 percent of these women perished on the battlefield.
The act seeks to address wrongs starting from Aug. 15, 1945, when former Japanese emperor Hirohito announced that the Empire of Japan accepted the terms of unconditional surrender as outlined in the Potsdam Declaration, Ma said.
However, the Japanese instrument of surrender was not signed aboard the USS Missouri until Sept. 2, and the Republic of China had not “reclaimed” Taiwan until Oct. 25 of that year, Ma said.
Between Aug. 15 and Oct. 25, Taiwan was still nominally under the rule of Japan and the government is obliged, as per the act, to aid Taiwanese “comfort women” in obtaining compensation and apologies from the Japanese government, he said.
The government is obligated by law to fight for the rights of the nation’s two surviving “comfort women,” Ma said, adding that he was certain the public would back any government action to see that these two women receive compensation and official apologies.
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,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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