Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Comfort Women: The Case of Taiwan

Following our discussion last week on the Second World War and comfort women, I found this interesting article that looks at the case of Taiwan. While it is estimated that 1,200 to 2,000 Taiwanese women were victims, only 58 have been registered with the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation, which supports the surviving victims. Unfortunately, Taiwanese women never were able to get the Japanese government to apologize for the atrocities the military committed during WWII. Despite these legal setbacks, they intend not to give up the fight and will continue until they receive an official apology.

The Foundation is also raising funds (they need about $160,000) to establish a "virtual museum of women's rights" that will not only expose the crimes committed, but also provide a forum for women to express themselves. The past two weeks have seen two former comfort women registered with the foundation pass away, leaving only 22 surviving victims. Hopefully, they will be given an apology one day as well.

Link to article: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/03/08/2003404579

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