President Ma Ying-jeou says that the government will stand with Taiwan’s comfort women and fight to see them receive justice. He was speaking Wednesday at the funeral of Chen Tao, a comfort woman who passed away at the age of 93.
Chen was one of the many young women who were forced into sex slavery for the Japanese army during WWII. After the war, she had filed a lawsuit against Japan and lost. She was also rejected by her family upon returning to Taiwan.
Japan recently issued a formal apology to Korean comfort women, but has not settled the row with Taiwan. President Ma said the government will continue to stand with the comfort women and fight for them.
“When she was forced be a comfort woman, Taiwan was under Japanese occupation. She wasn’t a Taiwanese national at the time, she was Japanese," said Ma. "Japan needs to apologize for people like Chen, for treating their own people in such a way. They should compensate [for the damage they caused]. Taiwan will not stop on this issue. We will continue [to fight for their justice]."
Ma said he respects Chen and is saddened by her passing. He especially expressed appreciation for Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation for the warmth and healing they offered Tao for many years.