Taiwan's first comfort women museum moves closer to opening

PhotocourtesyoftheTaipeiWomen'sRescueFoundation

(FOCUSTAIWAN)Taipei,March8(CNA)TheplaqueofthefirstmuseumdedicatedtoTaiwanese"comfortwomen,"whowereforcedintosexualslaverybytheJapaneseImperialArmyduringWorldWarII,wasunveiledTuesday,InternationalWomen'sDay.

HuangShu-ling(黃淑玲),chairwomanoftheTaipeiWomen'sRescueFoundation,thedrivingforcebehindthemuseum,saidthatitwasameaningfuldayinthehistoryofthewomen'srightsmovementinTaiwan.

Aftermorethanadecadeofeffort,thefoundationhasfinallyrealizeditsdream--establishingamuseuminmemoryoftheTaiwanesecomfortwomen,HuangsaidataceremonyinTaipei,whichwasalsoattendedbyTaiwanleaderMaYing-jeou(馬英九)andoneoftheformercomfortwomen.

The"AmaMuseum"promotespeaceandhumanrights,Masaid,addingthatitcreatesanewchapterinthehistoryofTaiwan'scomfortwomen.

Thatpartofhistorymustbepreserved,notforrevengebutforthegoalofrevealingthetruthandrememberingthelessonsofwar,Masaid.

Attheceremony,MaalsoonceagainurgedJapantodomoreanddobetterindealingwiththecomfortwomenissue.

AlsoparticipatingintheeventwasChenLien-hua(陳蓮花),aformerTaiwanesecomfortwoman,thefoundationsaid.The92-year-oldsaidshewasverygratefultoseetheestablishmentofthemuseum,itadded.

ChenisoneofthethreesurvivingTaiwanesecomfortwomenwhohavespokenopenlyoftheirsufferingatthehandsofJapaneseforcesduringthewar.

InresponsetoquestionsaboutJapan'shandlingoftheissue,shesaidtheJapanesegovernmenthasnotrespondedtotheirdemandsandexpressedworrythatshemightnotbeabletoliveuntilthedaywhenJapanissuesaformalapologyandofferscompensation,accordingtothefoundation.

"Ama"isthewordfor"grandmother"inTaiwanese.Thefoundationcallstheformercomfortwomen"Ama"becausemostoftheonesstillalivearealreadyintheirlate80sorearly90s.

ThefoundationhopesthatthemuseumwillbeaneverlastinghomefortheAmasandaplacewheretheywillalwaysberemembered.Oneofthegoalsistoallowfuturegenerationstolearnmoreaboutthehistoryofthecomfortwomenandtheissueofwomen'shumanrights,itadded.

Housedwithina2.5-storybuildingcoveringanareaof150pings(495squaremeters),themuseumwillfeatureapermanentexhibitionontheTaiwanesecomfortwomen,displayingphotos,documentsandvideosrelatedtothatpartofhistory,aswellasexchangesoverthepasttwodecadesbetweenthefoundation'smembersandthewartimevictims,accordingtothefoundation.

Inadditiontomountingtheexhibitiononthecomfortwomen,thefoundationwillorganizeworkshopsandseminarsatthemuseumontopicssuchashumanrightseducationandsexualabuse,itadded.

ThemuseumislocatedinarecentlyrenovatedbuildinginthehistoricDadaochengareaofTaipei.ItsformalopeningisslatedforSeptember,thefoundationsaid.

Itwillmarkthefoundation's25yearsofeffortstohelpthecomfortwomencopewiththeirmentalanguishandtoseekjusticeandcompensationfromJapan.Overthepasttwodecades,ithascollectedmanyfirst-handaccountssinceittookuptheissueandbeganinterviewingthewomen.

Morethan2,000TaiwanesewomenwereforcedintosexualslaverybytheJapaneseImperialArmyduringWorldWarII,accordingtothefoundation.

NotingthatitwillcostaboutNT$20million(US$601,169)forthefirsttwoyearsofoperationofthemuseum,thefoundationiscallingonthepublictomakedonationstohelpwiththefunding.