Grandma Lianhua was born in Xizhi, Taipei. She was sent to the family of a family named Chen to be an adopted daughter more than four months after she was born. When he was seven years old, he entered a public school. He wrapped his books in cloth towels and walked barefoot for a long time to go to school every day. However, because his family was poor, he dropped out of school after only two years to help out at home.
"In 1944, I was nineteen years old and working as a female worker in a straw rope factory in Nangang. Although the income was low, I could still supplement the family income. One day, a Japanese came to the factory to find the boss and said that he wanted to recruit women to work as nursing assistants in the Philippines. . The next day, he came to my house with a document to find my adoptive father. Because I was under twenty years old, I needed the consent of the head of household to go abroad, but my adoptive father did not agree with my going abroad. The Japanese did not give up and ran away three times in a row. My adoptive father must allow me to go abroad. The adoptive father refused and said that his daughter had never studied nursing and had no idea how to be a nurse. The Japanese said that the job was very simple, just helping to tie bandages. The Japanese also repeatedly emphasized that many nurses Even if we go to the battlefield without fear of death, we should also do something for the country and the soldiers. The adoptive father had no choice but to stamp the seal almost half-forced."
"I boarded the ship in Keelung, and there were more than 20 people traveling with me. When I arrived in the Philippines, the interpreter responsible for roll call at the dock was Taiwanese. The Japanese call him Hidaka. He asked me in Hokkien, 'Why are you here? ?” I answered him, “I am here to be a nanny.” The man told me, “Not a nanny, but a ‘comfort woman’!” At this time, I still didn’t understand what a “comfort woman” was. When we arrived at the military camp, the Japanese couple who brought us told us that our job was to receive Japanese soldiers. When we heard this, we burst into tears. However, we could not escape in the vast sea, so we had to surrender and obey. The working hours here are from nine in the morning to twelve noon. After meals, they continue until ten in the evening. The targets are all Japanese soldiers. There is another comfort station nearby where Japanese and Korean women work. They were mainly Japanese military officers. "
In 1945, at the height of the war, the U.S. military launched a strong counterattack with island-hopping tactics. The Philippines became the area with the strongest attack power by the U.S. military. Japan then asked all troops in Cebu to retreat with the "comfort women" and flee into the mountains. The panic of the girls can be imagined.
"Mitue, who lived next door to me in the comfort station, cut off a bunch of hair and nails and put them in an iron box. She said that if she died unfortunately, she did not believe that the Japanese soldiers would bury her properly, and she did not want to become a lonely soul overseas. Wild ghost, I hope someone I know will take this iron box back to Taiwan so that her soul can return to her hometown. Mitue died during the escape. When the Japanese soldier held the iron box and asked who knew her, I silently accepted the box. Take it with you."
During the long escape, many soldiers and "comfort women" died, and the survivors learned to pity and care for each other. The miserable days did not end until the Japanese army announced their surrender. There were more than 20 "comfort women" before departure. After such hardships, only Lianhua and another woman survived.
"After the surrender, I stayed in the US military concentration camp with others, waiting for the ship to return to Taiwan. Surprisingly, I met Hidaka again in the concentration camp. When they met, the two of them asked each other invariably, 'You are still alive, not dead!' "It felt like a dream at that time. At the end of 1945, we took a boat back to Taiwan together. I returned to my hometown behind the society and told my family what I had experienced overseas. I hugged and cried with my family. Two years after returning to Taiwan, I married Hidaka, who was 13 years older than me, and moved to Tamsui to rent a house. Because I didn’t know where Mitue’s family lived, I put the iron box containing her hair and nails into the temple and prayed for her soul to rest in peace. "