Den Kao Bao-zhu (鄧高寶珠), the first Taiwanese comfort woman to come forward and demand compensation from the Japanese government, passed away last month after a long illness. Before she died, she told a social worker: "I have no hope of living to hear the Japanese government offer an apology."
Her hopelessness represented the feelings of the other surviving 29 Taiwanese comfort women; it also expressed the regrets of the social workers who have helped her for so long.
Comfort women have been ignored by the public or distorted by people with ulterior motives. These old women have a greater strength of purpose than most of us. They constantly work for the human rights of women abused during the war. The question is, when will the weak voices of these women be heard? What can we do to help these few surviving women leave their humiliation behind and clear their reputations?
The movement to help Taiwanese comfort women gain compensation began in 1992, 14 years ago. These old women -- who have endured physical suffering and hardship -- have made public the painful secrets that even their families had been unaware of in order to leave their humiliation behind and bear witness to this period in history. Regrettably, they have yet to gain the support of all Taiwanese. The public is still trying to decide whether or not they were forced or acted of their own free will.
These women, whose average age is 84, are fighting in an attempt to restore dignity and human rights to the women of Taiwan. Why don't the people of Taiwan put pressure on the despicable Japanese government instead of questioning the chastity of this group of humiliated people? Are we once again kneeling to the colonial rule of an imperialist state?
Taiwan sadly falls short of the strong support given to South Korea's comfort women by their government. In 1992, organizations in support of the comfort women launched a Wednesday protest movement. Every Wednesday at noon, a sit-in protest is arranged in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul. Come rain or come shine, they gather. March 15 marked the 700th consecutive Wednesday demonstration. One South Korean comfort woman said that she would participate in 5,000 or even 50,000 demonstrations -- and if she died, her son and grandchildren would come in her place -- until the Japanese government apologizes and pays compensation.
To help the younger generation understand the history of the comfort women, South Korea tells their story in its school history books. Senior high school students now learn how the Japanese imperial army wanted to reduce the risk to the army's ability to fight from the constant occurrence of rapes and spread of venereal disease among soldiers who satisfied their sexual desires in this way. To achieve this, comfort stations were set up throughout the Asian war theater. About 300,000 to 400,000 women from colonized or occupied areas were forced to serve in these stations as sex slaves to the Japanese army.
There is ample historical evidence of women being abused to death or committing suicide because they were unable to stand the humiliation.
The strength and resilience of the South Korean nation is a key point. It is clear in South Korea's treatment of its comfort women.
At 1pm tomorrow, the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation will hold a memorial for Den Gao Bao-zhu in Block D, Four Four South Village, No. 50, Sungchin Road (
Sandy Yeh is a director on the board of the Taipei Womens' Rescue Foundation. Lai Tsai-er is supervisor of the foundation's elderly women's group.
TRANSLATED BY PERRY SVENSSON
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