Taipei, June 27 (CNA) A women's rights advocacy group protested in front of Japan's representative office in Taiwan Wednesday on the heels of passage of a U.S. House committee resolution on the Japanese military's wartime sexual enslavement of women in Asia, demanding a formal apology and compensation from the Japanese government.
"This can be seen as a huge victory in our 15-year effort to get compensation for comfort women, " said Fran Gau, Executive Director of the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation (TWRF) , on the overwhelming 39-2 vote in the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee passed that day, which called on the government of Japan to "formally acknowledge, apologize and accept historical responsibility" for its coercion of young women into sexual slavery during World War II.
The foundation and two former comfort women, Cheng Chen-tao and Chen Yang, staged a 30-minute protest in front of the Interchange Association, Japan's official representative office in Taiwan, under the watchful eyes of dozens of policemen. They were not received by Japanese officials.
"At 86 years old, I can no longer work and make a living. For many years the Japanese government has refused to recognize the existence of comfort women or offer a formal apology and compensation. With the passage of the resolution, I hope for Japan's apology and compensation, " said Cheng.
Chen Yang also questioned why the Taiwan government and legislature failed to initiate a practical solution in pressuring Japan now that the U.S. has shown support for the compensation claim movement.
"The governments of South Korea and China have been very active and supportive of the compensation claim. The Taiwan government and legislature should step up their efforts as well, as the resolution has now received support from Canada, Australia, Germany, South Korea, China and the Philippines, " said Gau.
"We are not requesting Japan's apology forever. We want the truth to be recognized, " said Legislator Joanna Lei, who also attended the protest.
"The government of Japan has never taken the responsibility it should have taken. On the contrary, it has spent a lot of money lobbying in the U.S. for the resolution not to pass, " Gau said, adding that the TWRF also condemned 44 Japanese lawmakers' denial of the existence comfort women in a full-page advertisement in the Washington Post earlier this month.
The non-binding Resolution 121, which was introduced by Representative Michael Honda last January, will now be voted on in a full House.