The first Taiwanese woman to sue the Japanese government for forcing her to become a comfort woman during World War II died of a heart attack Sept. 1 at age 90.
Liu-Huang A-tao passed away waiting for the Japanese government to offer her an apology and bring to a close this traumatic chapter in her life. Her death reduces the number of surviving Taiwanese comfort women to 10.
Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation CEO Kang Shu-hua said the Japanese government stole A-tao’s youth, and the foundation will continue working to right this wrong and help these women achieve the justice and dignity they deserve.
In 1942, A-tao applied to join the Japanese nursing corps and work in the South Pacific. Instead, she was shanghaied into becoming a comfort woman in Indonesia. Her misery continued for three years until her repatriation to Taiwan following Japan’s surrender in 1945.
The Japanese government, through the Asia's Women Fund, tried to use private means to address A-tao’s complaint, but she refused to accept the compensation offer, filing an international class action along with seven other women.
After losing the suit in 2002, the foundation then began working together with legal associations in Japan and South Korea to push legislation through the Japanese parliament to resolve the issue.
The draft law was at one point dropped, but the foundation proposed the legislation again last year, hoping the Japanese government will create a legal basis via which to compensate the surviving Taiwanese comfort women. (JSM)
(This article appeared Sept. 4 in The Liberty Times.)