The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday accused the government of inaction following the alleged attack by a Japanese visitor on a comfort woman statue erected next to the party’s Tainan chapter offices.
Japanese Representative to Taiwan Mikio Numata must apologize for the incident, but the government has shied away from responding to the “intrusive and impudent” action of Mitsuhiko Fujii, a member of the Alliance for Truth About Comfort Women, KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) told a news conference in Taipei.
Fujii can allegedly be seen in surveillance footage kicking the statue on Thursday last week during a visit to Taiwan to deliver an invitation to the Tainan Alliance for Comfort Women’s Rights to a public debate on the comfort women issue.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Fujii lied when he accused the KMT of altering the footage and said he had only stretched his leg because he felt a “numbness” in it, Ko said.
The Ministry of the Interior must list Fujii as an unwelcome person and Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) must lodge a formal protest with Tokyo over the incident, the caucus said.
Calling Fujii’s claims “pathetic and shameless,” KMT Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏) said Fujii’s action had hurt the dignity of Taiwanese women and was intolerable.
As the nation’s first female leader, President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) silence over the incident was disheartening, Wang said.
Wang said she has completed a draft amendment to protect the rights of former comfort women and their families, which the incident showed are in need of strengthening.
Her proposal stipulates a prison term of up to one year and a fine of up to NT$10,000 for people who hurt the dignity of former comfort women through discriminatory actions, which would include disrespecting statues, she said.
The UN Human Rights Committee in 1996 defined comfort women as girls and women from several Asian nations who were abducted and forced into sexual slavery prior to and during World War II by the Japanese Imperial Army, Hua Hsia Social Welfare Association director-general Jennifer Wang (王如玄) told the news conference.
Japan and South Korea signed an agreement on Dec. 28, 2015, to resolve the comfort women issue, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issuing an apology and Tokyo issuing compensation, but Taiwanese comfort women have not yet received the apology and compensation they are due, Wang said.
“I have often wondered: Are Taiwanese not as human as South Koreans?” she said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu, front, grabs the pennant in a dragon boat race hosted by Qu Yuan Temple in the Shuanghsi River in Taipei’s Beitou District yesterday.
RSS