Japan and South Korea to Resolve Comfort Women Issue, What About Taiwan?
What you need to know
The Japanese government will provide a JPY one billion (approximately US$8.3 million) fund for South Korea and both of countries agree to put the comfort woman issue to an end. But Japan has not made any statement regarding the Taiwanese comfort women.
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On December 28, Japan and South Korea reached a consensus on the decades-long comfort women issue. The Japanese government will provide a JPY one billion (approximately US$8.3 million) fund for South Korea and both of countries agree to put the comfort woman issue to an end. But Japan has not made any statement regarding the Taiwanese comfort women.
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China Times reports, Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had a telephone conversation with South Korean President Park Geun-hye for about 15 minutes, expressing apology and remorse for the comfort women. Abe says that he can’t let the next generations bear the responsibility and repeatedly apologize for the same issue and that this agreement will be put into action.
Park Geun-hye says that she hopes the outcome of the negotiations can be implemented and lead to stable relations between South Korea and Japan from a new starting point.
China Times reports, Shen Si-chun, ROC representative in Japan was on holiday in Taiwan so he did not obtain first-hand information in Tokyo.
The Office of the President shows an affirmative attitude towards the Japanese government and says it has consistently called for the Japanese government to officially apologize to Taiwanese comfort women, who were forced to serve Japanese soldiers in World War II.
Lin Yong-le, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, says that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan has always been following up this issue. Lin admits that Taiwan and Japan still need more time to deal with the issue.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs released an announcement later on December 28, including three major points:
1. The authorities have put attention on this issue and contacted related domestic groups.
2. The authorities will ask Japan to make an official apology to the victims and the government will keep negotiating with Japan.
3. The authorities will require our representative in Japan to ask the country to conduct negotiations with Taiwan regarding this case.
Lin Shun-da, former diplomat in South Korea and emeritus professor of Changshin University, writes in an article that only five comfort women remain in Taiwan. President Ma should follow the steps of South Korea and deliver the island’s position to Abe’s government asking for the compensation our comfort women deserve.
Translated by June
Edited by Olivia Yang
Sources: