Dec 24 08:12 AM US/EasternTAIPEI, Dec. 24 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou met Wednesday with a delegation of local women who claim to have been forced into prostitution by the Japanese during World War II.
The meeting came amid renewed focus on the former sex slaves, known as "comfort women" in Japan, with Taiwan's parliament passing last month a resolution calling on Tokyo to own up to its wartime military brothel program, which allegedly forced hundreds of thousands of women to become prostitutes.
"These ladies' stories are part of Taiwan's history, and we should never forget them," Ma said in a meeting at the presidential office.
He expressed support for their bid for reparations from Tokyo and revisions in school textbooks to reflect the history of their plight, according to a government press release.
In a rare show of unity, the island's ruling and opposition camps passed on Nov. 11 by a unanimous vote the Taiwan Comfort Women Resolution, calling on Tokyo to "accept historical responsibility for its World War II sex slavery institution, and apologize to and compensate surviving victims."
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