Women’s rights activists demanded sweeping corrections and an apology from China Central Television (CCTV) for alleged “deceptive editing” in a documentary on “comfort women” that they said instead played to false narratives and attacked the governments of Taiwan and Japan.
Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation in a statement on Sunday filed a protest against CCTV, saying that prior to granting permission for filming and interviewing at the Ama Museum (阿嬤家和平與女性人權館), the Chinese state broadcaster’s documentary team had promised the footage would not be used for political purposes.
The museum, opened in Taipei in 2016, was the first institution in Taiwan dedicated to preserving the memory and honoring the hardship of the wartime comfort women and the movement to restore their rights, becoming an icon in the movement for women’s safety and equality.
Photo: Taipei Times
The CCTV documentary team had said the project was focused on marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, according to the statement.
“Our foundation granted permission for their filming, based on our charter for public education, while the CCTV team promised their work would serve no political purpose and not denounce the governments of Taiwan and Japan,” it said.
Foundation members said they were appalled when the documentary aired on Friday, showing purported “anti-war” sentiment in Taiwan, public denunciation of President William Lai’s (賴清德) “warmongering” stance, and castigating the Democratic Progressive Party government’s “fawning” attitude toward Japan.
The film included quotes from people claiming to represent broad sectors of Taiwanese society who spoke against Lai, Taiwanese independence and Japan.
“Our foundation is lodging a protest that CCTV has distorted history, manipulated and created false narratives, misled the audience on the comfort women issue, and attacked the governments of Taiwan and Japan,” the statement said. “It filmed false content and harmed the reputation of our foundation and those of the comfort women.”
The release said the foundation supports peace, stands against any military conflict or any country starting a war to invade another country, including China’s hostile actions of intimidation and intrusion against Taiwan.
“Our members continue to advocate for the memory of the comfort women, to seek historic truth, but not to continue in hatred,” it said.
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