The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday reiterated its unwavering stance on the issue of “comfort women,” after Japan expressed “extreme disappointment” over the installation of Taiwan’s first bronze statue honoring comfort women in Tainan.
“The government has always paid close attention to the issue of comfort women. Our stance on the matter, as well as our policy to fight for their dignity, remains unchanged,” ministry spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said in a news release, adding that negotiations with Japan on the matter would continue.
The government did not play a part in the erection of the statue by a civic group in Tainan on Tuesday to mark International Comfort Women Day, Lee added.
Photo courtesy of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Tainan mayoral candidate Kao Su-po
The ministry’s remarks came just hours after Japan Broadcasting Corp (NHK) reported that Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga lamented the statue’s installation during a news conference after a Cabinet meeting in Japan.
“The establishment and exhibition of comfort women statues in various parts of the world is extremely disappointing, as it is not compatible with the position and efforts of the Japanese government so far,” Suga was quoted by the NHK as saying.
The statue in Tainan, which stands on an open space next to the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Tainan chapter office, was erected by the non-profit Tainan Association for Comfort Women’s Rights, with assistance from the KMT.
Some Japanese media have speculated that the move was motivated by Taiwan’s nine-in-one elections in November, and was part of the KMT’s efforts to criticize the generally friendly stance of the Democratic Progressive Party administration toward Japan.
The Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation estimates that about 2,000 Taiwanese women were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.
The Asian Women’s Fund — a quasi-public organization established by the Japanese government in 1995 to address the issue through “atonement” projects, before dissolving it in 2007 — had tried to offer Taiwanese victims compensation of ¥2 million (US$18,014 at the current exchange rate) per person and a letter of apology.
However, some Taiwanese victims refused to accept the money as they felt it did not show that the Japanese government was taking responsibility for their actions.
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association in Taipei yesterday declined to comment on the matter, saying only that the Japanese government had tried to address the issue through various measures taken by the Asian Women’s Fund.
CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT: A new committee would investigate a backlog of US weapons sales to Taiwan, said its chairman, US Representative Mike Gallagher The US should formally recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, and end its outdated and counterproductive “one China” policy, US Representative Tom Tiffany and 18 other US lawmakers wrote in a petition. “It is time to change the status quo and recognize the reality denied by the US government for decades: Taiwan is an independent nation,” Tiffany told the Epoch Times. “As our long-standing and valued partner, correctly acknowledging their independence from communist China is long overdue.” The resolution also asks the administration of US President Joe Biden to support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations and to negotiate a bilateral free-trade
GUT FEELING: In the leaked memo, US Air Force General Mike Minihan urged mobile command personnel to go to a firing range, shoot at a target and ‘aim for the head’ A four-star US Air Force general has warned of a conflict with China as early as 2025 — most likely over Taiwan — and urged his commanders to push their units to achieve maximum operational battle readiness this year. In an internal memorandum that first emerged on social media on Friday, and was later confirmed as genuine by the Pentagon, Air Mobility Command Commander General Mike Minihan said that the main goal should be to deter “and, if required, defeat” China. “I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me we will fight in 2025,” Minihan said. Minihan said that Taiwan’s presidential election
INCREASED RISK: The Omicron BA.2.75 subvariant has higher immune evasive capacity, but the CECC is more concerned about newer subvariants such as XBB and BQ.1 With the peak season for infectious respiratory diseases coming to an end, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that details of the next phase of lifting COVID-19 masking rules — removing the mask requirement in most indoor settings — are to be announced this week. Discussions on lifting other COVID-19 restrictions are also being held, including further easing border control measures, home isolation requirements and revising the definition for reporting cases, while also downgrading COVID-19 to a lower category of notifiable communicable disease, said Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the CECC. As the daily
DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM: Czech president-elect Petr Pavel said his nation stands firmly on the side of democracy and would boost cooperation with Taipei in all aspects Czech president-elect Petr Pavel spoke by telephone with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday, a highly unusual move given the lack of formal ties and a diplomatic coup for Taipei. Tsai spoke with Pavel for 15 minutes in a harmonious atmosphere, Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) said, adding that Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) was also present during the conversation. Lin quoted Pavel as telling Tsai that Taiwan is a trustworthy partner, adding that the Czech Republic stands firmly on the side of democracy and supports Taiwan in maintaining a lively democratic system free from authoritarian coercion. The Czech Republic would