Taiwan Unveils First Statue of Comfort Women|台灣首座慰安婦像設台南 馬英九揭幕

Aug. 14 is the International Memorial Day for Comfort Women that suffered in the world war II era. On this day this year, Taiwan unveiled its first statue of a comfort woman, situated in Tainan. Former President Ma Ying-jeou attended the unveiling and called for Japan to apologize, while The Tainan Comfort Women's Rights Promotion Association, which funded the statue, urged President Tsai Ing-wen to continue to pay attention to the issue of comfort women.


Is it really that difficult to issue an apology and compensation? Japan is such a big country, with such a long history and civilization. Even if it committed this type of mistake, a willingness to step forward and apologize and provide compensation would untie many issues, in my opinion. I don't believe the Japanese government needs to continue to bear this burden.

Former President Ma Ying-jeou repeatedly urged the Japanese government to apologize to comfort women during a ceremony marking the unveiling of a comfort woman statue in Tainan on Aug. 14. Japan and its leaders have so far rejected all calls to apologize. The statue is of a young Taiwanese girl with both hands raised in resistance. She symbolizes the helplessness of victims to change their current situation, as well as their resistance. The statue is located within the compound, housing the Kuomintang's Tainan headquarters. Across the street is a department store constructed during the Japanese colonial era. Many Japanese media outlets covered the unveiling ceremony. The Tainan Comfort Women's Rights Promotion Association, which funded the statue, said the objective of showing care for comfort women is not to be antagonistic, but to face history head on.