1992 ~ 2000

Comfort Women Human Rights Movement in Taiwan Major Events

1992

  • Japanese Congressman Hideko Ito discovered three telegrams in the library of the Japan Defense Agency Research Institute in February, confirming that the Japanese military participated in the recruitment of "comfort women" in Taiwan during World War II.
  • TWRF set up a complaint investigation hotline on February 20. The first former Taiwanese "comfort women" survivor to come forward to complain.
  • The Chinese government set up a complaint hotline on March 12 and formed an inter-ministerial "Taiwanese "Comfort Women" Task Force". The Women's Aid Society is one of the members of the task force and is entrusted with the task of interviewing Taiwanese "Comfort Women" survivors. In 1997, 58 survivors were successively confirmed.
  • TWRF held a press conference on "Taiwanese "comfort women"'s first public accusation". Three Taiwanese "comfort women" survivors reported behind the scenes for the first time the atrocities committed by the Japanese army.

1993

  • Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono publicly admitted that the Japanese military was involved in the establishment, operation, and forced recruitment of the "comfort women" system, and expressed apology and reflection to the victims, but did not mention the issue of compensation.

1994

  • "Comfort women" support groups in Taiwan and other Asian countries simultaneously published advertisements in newspapers to oppose the Japanese government's attempt to use private funds to solve the issue of compensation for "comfort women" survivors and avoid the Japanese government's due responsibilities.

1995

  • TWRF recommends that the government provide living support to Taiwanese "comfort women" survivors to take care of them in their later years. Taipei City and the Taiwan Provincial Government have successively commissioned the Women's Aid Association to provide Taiwanese "comfort women" survivors with services such as living allowances, medical assistance, and caring counseling.
  • The Japanese government led the establishment of the "Asian Women's Peace National Fund" and attempted to pay each victim NT$500,000 to cover up the Japanese government's historical responsibility in the form of private fund compensation.

1996

  • TWRF met with representatives of the Asian Women’s Peace Fund to express their firm opposition to Taiwanese “comfort women” survivors and the Women’s Aid Association’s use of private funds to resolve compensation issues.
  • Our country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement asking the Japanese government to accept the recommendations of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and provide the victims with a lump sum of personal compensation.
  • TWRF started organizing physical and mental therapy groups for Taiwanese "comfort women" survivors.

1997

  • TWRF held the "Charity Sale of "Comfort Women" - Li Ao's 100 Collections" to support Taiwanese "comfort women" survivors who refused to receive national funds. The proceeds from the charity sale were given to those who refused to receive them as compensation.
  • The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of our country officially entrusted the TWRF to distribute compensation of NT$500,000 to each of the Taiwanese "comfort women" survivors.

1998

 

  • TWRF raised funds to premiere Taiwan's first "Comfort Women" documentary "Grandma's Secret - The Story of Taiwan's "Comfort Women"". The film won the Golden Horse Award for Best Documentary.

  • TWRF cooperated with Japanese friends to organize a group of Taiwanese and Japanese volunteer lawyers to launch a lawsuit against Japan by Taiwanese "comfort women" survivors.

1999

  • Nine Taiwanese "comfort women" survivors went to Japan's Tokyo District Court to file a cross-ocean lawsuit "demanding damages from the Japanese government."
  • Published "Report on Taiwan's "Comfort Women"".

2000

  • TWRF organized the "Taiwan Action Alliance to Support the "Comfort Women" in the 2000 Tokyo Trials", and together with 12 Taiwanese "comfort women" survivors and more than 60 people from all walks of life, went to Japan to participate in the privately held "Tokyo Trials" ”.

 

2001 ~ 2009

Comfort Women Human Rights Movement in Taiwan Major Events

2001

  • Japanese cartoonist Yoshiki Kobayashi's "Taiwan Theory" was released in Taiwan, and his "comfort women" volunteer theory sparked protests. Thirteen Taiwanese "comfort women" survivors held a press conference and demanded a public apology.

 

2002

  • Japanese Congressman Okazaki and others visited Taiwan and jointly held a press conference with Taiwanese legislators to explain the solution to the "comfort women" issue. Taiwan's Legislative Yuan co-signed a proposal calling on the Japanese Congress to pass the "Wartime Compensation Victims Compensation Act" as soon as possible.
  • The first-instance verdict of the "Taiwanese "comfort women" survivor's lawsuit against the Japanese government for damages" was pronounced, and the Tokyo District Court of Japan rejected all claims. The grandmothers immediately held banners and marched on the streets of Japan to protest.

  • TWRF promotes the inclusion of "comfort women" historical facts in national high school history textbooks" so that Taiwan's next generation can understand this period of history.

2003

  • TWRF began to conduct oral histories and video recordings of Taiwan's "comfort women" survivors, and conducted campus publicity to pass on the historical truth through education.

2004

  • The Japanese High Court ruled in the second instance that the "Taiwanese "comfort women" survivors' lawsuit against Japan for compensation" failed.

  • About 600 people from "comfort women" support groups in Taiwan, Tokyo, Osaka, Germany, and the Philippines launched the "March 17 Global Synchronous Action" to express dissatisfaction and protest against the Tokyo High Court judgment on February 9.

2005

  • "Taiwanese "comfort women" survivors filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government for damages," the Tokyo Supreme Court ruled in defeat. TWRF launched a "million-signature global campaign" to support Taiwanese "comfort women" survivors.
  • TWRF held "Life, Resilience - Sixty Years of Survival of Taiwan's "Comfort Women" Image Exhibition" to continue the issue and gain social support through outdoor image exhibitions.

  • A series of activities on the 60-year survival of Taiwan's "comfort women", including the publication of the "Comfort Women" books "Scars of Silence" and "Youth in the Iron Box", as well as the photo album "Grandma's Face" and commemorative postcards.

2006

  • TWRF held the "Grandma's Dream Come True in Wedding Dress" and began to promote the Grandma's Dream Come True project.

  • TWRF promotes the Xiulin Township comfort station site in Hualien as a "women's human rights landmark."
  • Four Taiwanese "comfort women" surviving grandmothers participated in the "Taipei V-DAY International Feminist Organization Performance - The Vagina Monologues" performance.

  • In order to assist in the preservation of "comfort women" historical materials and the promotion of women's rights, the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Taipei City Government prepared the Women's Human Rights Museum and jointly organized a building survey and press conference with TWRF.

 

2007

  • Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe publicly denied the historical facts of "comfort women", triggering the anger of the victimized countries in Asia. TWRF called for an urgent protest and went to the Japan Exchange Association to protest.

  • The U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass "Resolution 121" on the "comfort women" issue, requiring the Japanese government to formally recognize, apologize and accept historical responsibility.

2008

 

  • Taiwan's Legislative Yuan passes a resolution on "comfort women", and legislators from both the ruling and opposition parties jointly demand the Japanese government to formally apologize and compensate the victims.

  • 台灣立法院通過「慰安婦」決議文,朝野立委共同要求日本政府對受害者正式道歉賠償。

2009

  • "Grandma's website - "Comfort Women" and Women's Human Rights Virtual Museum" was officially opened.
  • TWRF assisted the beautiful grandmother to complete her dream project of "stewardess for a day".

  • TWRF assisted Manmei's grandma to complete her dream project of "Police for a Day".

2010~2016

Comfort Women Human Rights Movement in Taiwan Major Events

2010

  • TWRF assisted grandma Iyang Apay (Chinese name Lin Shenzhong) in completing her dream project of "One-Day Postman".
  • TWRF, the National History Museum, the National Taiwan University Library, and the National Taiwan University Digital Collection Center held a signing ceremony for a cooperation agreement on the "digitization of historical materials on "Comfort Women"". TWRF provides 822 pieces of historical materials on the "comfort women" system free of charge, and officially authorizes the National Taiwan University Library and the National History Museum to jointly preserve historical materials on Taiwan's "comfort women".  

2011

  • Promote the inclusion of the historical facts of "comfort women" in high school history curriculum, and confirm that it will be officially included in the history textbooks of the first grade of high school starting in 101. 

2012

  • Wu Xiumei, the world's oldest "comfort woman" survivor, passed away at the age of 96.
  • To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the "Comfort Women" human rights movement, a special book "Reasons to Be Strong" was published.
  • TWRF hosted the 11th Asian Solidarity Conference on the Japanese "Comfort Women" Issue, with participation from 10 national groups, nearly 70 international friends and 4 survivors.

2013

  • The second Taiwanese "comfort women" survivor documentary "Song of the Reed" funded and produced by TWRF premiered in Taiwan.


  • On 814 International Comfort Women Memorial Day, TWRF called on the public to protest in front of the Japan Exchange Association and perform an action drama to "tear off the mask of the Japanese government."
  • TWRF and Japan's "War and Peace Women's Archives" jointly organized a special exhibition on Taiwan's "comfort women" in Tokyo, Japan.
  • TWRF invited Korean-American artist Lee Chang-jin to Taiwan to hold the "Comfort Women Recruitment" international women's human rights special exhibition.

2014

  • Conducted 4 screenings of "Song of the Reed" in Japan, the United States and other places, and participated in related international film festivals.
  • TWRF calls on the public to go to the Japan Exchange Association on August 14, the International Comfort Women Memorial Day, to express their demands for Japan in the form of "one word per person, one heart per person."

2015

  • "Song of the Reed" was released in theaters in Taiwan on August 14, the International "Comfort Women" Memorial Day, and achieved a box office success of 2 million.
  • TWRF held the "Inheritance, Connection, Blooming Everywhere - 70th Anniversary of the End of World War II, Don't Forget the Comfort Women" commemorative party
  • TWRF decided to independently raise funds to rent private venues, and the "Grandma's House-Peace Women's Human Rights Center" was confirmed to be located on Dihua Street in Taipei City in November.
  • TWRF collaborates with Hong Kong artist Man Ching-ying to hold "If I Were" - a commemorative exhibition on the human rights of "comfort women" on the 70th anniversary of the end of the war.

2016

  • Grandma Xiaotao (Zheng Chentao), one of the representative figures of Taiwan's "comfort women" human rights movement, passed away on January 11.
  • Taiwan's first "Grandma's House-Peace Women's Human Rights Center", which focuses on "comfort women" and is independently funded and operated by civil society groups, held an unveiling ceremony on March 8 and officially opened on World Human Rights Day on December 10.
  • TWRF called on the public to protest in front of the Japan Exchange Association on August 14, the International Comfort Women Memorial Day. Action artists acted as "comfort women" memorial statues and demanded an apology and compensation from the Japanese government.

  • On behalf of Taiwan, TWRF jointly proposed the "Voice of the Comfort Women" project with 14 citizen groups in 8 countries including South Korea, China, and Japan, and applied to UNESCO to combine 2,744 documents provided by various countries. "Comfort Women" documents are included in the "Memory of the World Register".

2017~2020

2017

  • TWRF colleagues went to Japan to attend the "First International Conference on Japanese Military "Comfort Women" Museums" to conduct cross-border exchanges on "comfort women" museums. 
  • "Comfort woman" Grandma Chen Lianhua passed away on April 20. "Grandma's Home" held a "Grandma Lotus" themed tour and memorial event.
  • On 518 International Museum Day, Taipei’s 228 Memorial Hall, 228 National Memorial Hall, and Grandma’s House jointly launched the event “The Missing Corner of Memory, ‘Paper’ Listens to You”. Artist Lin Wenzhen held “AMA museum" "Flower Festival Dress" Special Exhibition of Paper Sculpture Art to Commemorate the Passing Grandma Lotus.

  • "AMA museum" won the Far Eastern Architecture Award Jury Special Award, "Scene Popularity Award", and Owner Award
  • Inviting Korean "comfort women" survivor Lee Yong-soo to Taiwan to hold a "Herstory" symposium to share life stories.
  • TWRF colleagues went to Nanjing to attend the International Seminar on the Japanese Military Comfort Women Issue and the Memory of the World Register Application Meeting. 
  • On 814 International Comfort Women Memorial Day, TWRF launched the "One person, one heart, one person, one letter" campaign and held the 2017 "Comfort Women" International Human Rights Film Festival at the "AMA museum".

  • TWRF cooperated with South Korea's "Comfort Women" support group to select 15 Taiwanese student representatives to go to South Korea to participate in the first Taiwan-Korea "International Youth Conference"
  • Invited Korean "comfort women" historical researcher Han Huiren to come to Taiwan to give a lecture on ""The Empire's Comfort Women" and the Japanese Army's "Comfort Women" Issue - The Continuation of the Colony"
  • On the anniversary of the opening of "Grandma's House", the new book "The Warrior and the Rainbow" is released, which brings together the artistic creations of five "comfort women" grandmas and poems compiled by the writer Zeng Shumei.

2018

  • "AMA museum" cooperates with the "Annie Frank House" in the Netherlands across the sea to hold the special exhibition "Anne Meets Grandma and Sees the Power of Girls". The girl who was a victim of the Eastern and Western battlefields during World War II - Anne Frank and the "comfort women" in her youth crossed paths. time and space encounter

  • "AMA museum" invited Professor Yoshiaki Yoshimi, an authority on the history of "comfort women" in Japan, to come to Taiwan to hold a lecture on "Imperial Colonization and Mobilization - 'Comfort Women' Under State Sexual Violence"
  • TWRF colleagues went to Seoul, South Korea to attend the 15th Asian Joint Conference on Comfort Women
  • TWRF submitted documentation of Taiwan's "Comfort Women" human rights movement to be included in the 2018 Taiwan Memory of the World National Directory
  • On August 14th International Comfort Women Memorial Day, TWRF called on 59 people to wear white masks to protest at the Japan Exchange Association on behalf of the 59 known comfort women survivors.

  • "AMA museum" and the National Human Rights Museum signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the two museums, representing that "comfort women" has become a female human rights issue that must be paid attention to at the national level.

2019

  • TWRF colleagues went to the Philippines to attend the preparatory meeting for the "20th International Joint Conference to Ask Japan to Pay Off Its Past War Responsibility" and attended the unveiling ceremony of the Philippine comfort women statue.
  • The special exhibition "Annie Meets Grandma: Seeing the Power of Girls" moves to the National Museum of Taiwan Literature in Tainan.

  • On 814 International Comfort Women Memorial Day, TWRF called on the public to protest at the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, performed live action dramas, and held the "814 International Comfort Women Memorial Day Human Rights Lecture Series" at the "AMA museum"

  • TWRF donated the original film of Taiwan's first "Comfort Women" documentary "Grandma's Secret" to the National Film Center, which means that important images recording this period of Taiwanese women's history are officially included in the national audio-visual culture collection.

2020~2023

2020

  • 【Female History Without Borders - Recovering the "Hidden History" Woman Lecture】
  • "AMA museum" and Brilliant Time Southeast Asia themed bookstore Great Brilliant Time Art Season
  • 814 International "Comfort Women" Memorial Day

  • Launched a collaborative video with Youtuber "Zhiqi Qiqi"

  • [2020 "Grandma's Women's Human Rights Film Festival-Difference and Discrimination"]
  • Tsk tsk fundraising platform activity [Lights out is not the end, raising funds for the relocation of Grandma’s new home]
  • "Lights out is not the end, it is the next mile." Grandma's Peace and Women's Human Rights Museum closed press conference

  • One of the two remaining comfort women grandmothers in Taiwan has passed away, leaving Taiwan with only one "comfort woman" grandmother.

2021

  • [Taiwan's first comfort women story picture book "Reed Blossoms" is grandly published]
  • [Pain that transcends time and space, the truth that should not be forgotten] 814 International "Comfort Women" Memorial Day.
  • "Comfort Women" Mini Curation Toolbox Released.

  • Mini Curation Teaching Tool Box Campus Tour Promotion.
  • AMA museum trial operation.

  • AMA museum officially opens

2022

  • Legislator Lin Chuyin visited Grandma’s new home and interviewed the CEO
  • Cooperation with the Taichung Council for Reform ● Grandma’s home in Taichung|Special exhibition on peace and women’s human rights
  • TWRF x Heart Harbor/Shap Family Special Exhibition


  • TWRF and Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall collaborate on "#MeToo Pioneers" special exhibition
  • 【Special Exhibition】Restore Your Heart - Trauma and Recovery of Victims of Sexual Violence

  • History allows us to meet, and we are willing to understand and downplay the pain──"The history of Taiwanese "comfort women" should be placed in the National History Museum" press conference

  • Collaboration between AMA museum X and Same Party Theater | #BurningButterfly

  • NCCU Journal Interview! "Comfort Women" workshop uses audio and video to describe historical pain

2023

  • AMA museum's new special exhibition "Restoring Your Heart" is now open!

 

  • "Through the Time Tunnel – From the Cultural Relics Exhibition at the AMA Meseum to Reflections on Gender Violence in the Digital Era" Special Exhibition.

 

  • "Recruiting Victims of Human Trafficking to End Modern Slavery Special Exhibition"

 

  • We cannot hope for international transformation and justice, and we cannot wait for Taiwan’s historical positioning. Press conference to commemorate the 814 Taiwanese comfort women.

​  

  • Collection professional consultation meeting (25 collections entered into the collection)

 

  • Chairman Ye Delan went to South Korea to participate in the pre-review meeting for "Voice of Comfort Women" to apply for UNESCO Memory of the World Heritage List (ICJN Meeting 2023)