The Chinese and Taiwanese
"Comfort Women"

The "Comfort Women", which is a translation of the Japanese euphemism, "jugun ianfu", (military comfort women), categorically refers to women of various ethnic and national backgrounds and social circumstances who became sexual labourers for the Japanese troops before and during the Second World War.
Countless women had to labour as "Comfort Women" in the military brothels found throughout the vast Asia Pacific region occupied by the Japanese forces. There is no way to determine precisely how many women were forced to serve as "Comfort Women". According to most of the Literature concerning this matter, the estimate ranges between 80,000 and 200,000, about 80 % of whom, it is believed, were Korean. Japanese women and women of other occupied territories (such as Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Burma and the Pacific islands) were also used as "Comfort Women". According to Chinese literature, the number of the Chinese "Comfort Women" seems to be more than 200,000 and according to Taiwanese literature, the number of Taiwanese victims was around 2,000.

The Japanese rationale for the comfort system was to enhance the morale of the military by providing amenities for recreational sex. The authorities believed such amenities would help prevent soldiers from committing random sexual violence towards women of occupied territories, which became a real concern after the infamous Nanking Massacre in 1937. Besides its reputation, the military authorities were also concerned with the health of the troops, which prompted their close supervision of the hygienic conditions in the comfort stations in order to help keep sexually transmitted diseases under control. Those women were raped, despised, abused, disgraced and many of them were murdered by the Japanese Soldiers.

The War ended in 1945, but the trauma of the victims never ended. Most of them were physically and psychically injured. Because of the conservative Chinese tradition and moral and its strict regulations towards women and sex, most of the victims did not dare to talk to anyone about their terrible experiences. Not even with their own close relatives did they dare to share it with. As soon as their secret came out, they were disregarded by their own family, friends and the whole society. In that case, they had to leave their home and try to make a new beginning in a different place, which was, concerning their health situation and concerning that they never had the chance to learn an occupation, more than a hard - an impossible mission. Some of them got married and never told their husbands about their past, some of them who were willing to talk about it, got divorced. In order not to be alone many of them adopted a child.

Only in 1992, so many years after, the first former "Comfort Woman", a Korean woman, was brave enough to talk in public about her experience. She inspired other women, who had the same experiences, not to hide anymore and tell the world the truth about what had happened to them before. It took a few years until the Chinese and Taiwanese former "Comfort Women" talked about their past in public.
The Japanese government admitted deception and official involvement in the recruiting of "Comfort Women" in a supplementary report issued in August 1993. But it is neither willing to apologise nor to pay reparations to the victims.

Yukio Hatoyama - New Japanese Prime Minister,
New Hope for the "Comfort Women"?

On the 30. of August 2009 a political earthquake took place in Japan - the Democratic Party of Yukio Hatoyama, which has been established in 1996, has won the elections.
The International Press regards Hatoyama as the "Japanese Obama", since his was running his campaign by the devise of "Change". The Liberal Democratic Party ruling since 1955 almost with no stops, lost the elections. The japanese people were so fed up with years of bad economic status, corruption and social injustice, so they could hardly wait for a real change to come. The new government has already made promises to improve the financial status of the people and to fight against all kinds of injustice. Hatoyama announced his wish to be less independent from the United States and to improve the relationships to other countries in Asian as well.
But what does Hatoyama exactly means by improving the relationship to the Asian neighbor? Would he, or could he change the stubborn attitude of the old government towards the "Comfort Women"? In order for better relationships to China, Taiwan and Korea, would he stand to the japanese crimes during the war and in conclusion finally would he be able to bear a state responsibility? Would the new government be able ultimately to give a formal apologize to the "Comfort Women" and to compensate them as well? Former "Comfort Women" has tried since the very beginning of the 90`s to sue the japanese government in japanese courts and demand for justice. Until today none of them has won the court and many of them have already died. And this is exactly what the former japanese government was waiting for: the natural solution of this "Problem". Would the new government be able to break this big wall, to realize which the real consequences are and to take the necessary measures? Time will tell! But the survivors don't have a lot of time. We can only hope, the sooner the better, that the "Change" Hatoyama was talking about will also appear in the attitude of his government towards the "Comfort Women".

As the opinion and knowledge of the Chinese and Taiwanese people towards this issue is a very important part of my research, I have prepared a questionnaire in chinese and taiwanese with some simple questions that deal with this matter.
I would be more than thankful for every Chinese or Taiwanese person, answering my questions.
It will help me more to understand and know what is the opinion and knowledge of the people in these two countries concerning the "Comfort Women".