The government should update how school textbooks address Taiwanese women forced into prostitution by the Japanese army during World War II, a women’s rights group said Friday.
The Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation urged that the term “comfort women,” which is used in junior-high and high-school textbooks and curriculums, be changed to “military sexual slaves,” as this term is used in a 1995 UN report.
Taiwan should adopt the term used by the UN Human Rights Commission, the foundation said on Friday, the International Memorial Day for Comfort Women.
The foundation also reiterated its call for the Japanese government to formally apologize to women enslaved in World War II and compensate them.
An apology is essential, especially as Japan seeks to become one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, the foundation said.
The issue has reverberated throughout Asia in places occupied by the Japanese Imperial Army during the war, most notably in South Korea and Taiwan, it said, adding that Japan reached an agreement with South Korea in December 2015, apologized to enslaved women in the country and set up a US$8.3 million fund to help them.
Despite repeated lawsuits, the Taiwanese women have never received the same treatment and the Japanese government has been reluctant to recognize their plight, the foundation said.
More than 2,000 Taiwanese women were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese during World War II, it said, adding that the foundation is only aware of two of the women still being alive.
“The foundation helps people remember the history of the ‘comfort women’ every year on International Memorial Day,” said Yeh Der-lan (葉德蘭), the president of the foundation that has championed the rights of sexually enslaved women for nearly three decades.
Speaking of the two women who are still alive, Yeh said the foundation has only been able to offer “meager” compensation to them, which is insufficient in view of the women’s experience during the war.
“But the resilience they have shown and their ability to find harmony in their lives are worthy of emulation and respect,” Yeh said.
The foundation would continue to appeal to the Japanese, it said, adding that it would also continue to educate the public on the issue and tell the women’s stories.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if the next president of that country decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said today. “We would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said during a legislative hearing. At the same time, Taiwan is paying close attention to the Central American region as a whole, in the wake of a visit there earlier this year by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lin said. Rubio visited Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala, during which he
RSS