China asks Japan to 'reflect on history of aggression', handle comfort women issue

ISTANBUL

China has urged Japan to “reflect on its history of aggression,” and handle issues left over from history including the “forced drafting of comfort women.”

“In East Asia, there is a group of victims of sexual violence in conflict, who have been living with nightmare memories, but have not been able to get justice even till their death,” Dai Bing, China’s deputy ambassador, said during the UN Security Council’s debate on “Conflict-Related Sexual Violence” on Wednesday.

“This group is the comfort women forcibly drafted by the Japanese army during World War II,” Dai added.

The Chinese diplomat said hundreds of thousands of women and girls from China, the Korean Peninsula, Southeast Asia and other countries and regions “were forcibly conscripted by Japanese militarists as comfort women, and became a prisoner in hell.”

The term “comfort women” is a euphemism for Korean women who were abducted and forced to work as wartime sex slaves by Japan before and during World War II.

“They have experienced horrific sexual violence, both mentally and physically. However, for decades, some forces in Japan have stubbornly adhered to misconceptions, and attempted to deny and whitewash the history of aggression,” he added.

Dai also referred to recent changes in textbooks approved by the Japanese government which have “blurred historical facts through word games, attempting to downplay and evade the historical guilt of forced recruitment of comfort women.”

“We solemnly urge Japan to face up to and reflect on its history of aggression, handle issues left over from history, such as the forced drafting of comfort women, in a responsible manner, bring justice to the victims and survivors, and be accountable to the people of the invaded countries, so as not to further lose trust from its Asian neighbors and the international community,” the Chinese diplomat told the UN Security Council.

To combat sexual violence against women and girls, Dai suggested “building a solid foundation for peace” by stepping up conflict prevention and political settlement.

“The most fundamental protection of them is the prevention and resolution of conflict, so as to eliminate the breeding ground for sexual violence,” he said.

He urged the international community to “closely integrate the elimination of sexual violence in conflicts with the fight against terrorism by adhering to unified standards, and jointly combating all terrorist and extremist forces, so as to end sexual violence against women and girls.”