2015年CRI China Responds to Japan-South Korea Sex Slavery Deal

 

Chinese Foreign Ministry¹ spokesperson Lu Kang says the forced recruitment of "comfort women" was a serious crime.

"The conscription of 'comfort women' is one of the grave crimes against humanity committed by the Japanese military against the people of Asian countries during the Second World War. China always maintains that Japan should face up to and reflect on its history of aggression², and properly deal with the relevant issues with a responsible attitude."

Japan and South Korea are calling the agreement an historic consensus³.

Following a meeting between the country's two foreign ministers in Seoul on Monday, Japan issued a formal statement from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

In it, he's quoted as saying "the Japanese government strongly feels responsibility" for the comfort women issue.

A pledge of nearly 8 million US dollars to create a foundation to help provide support for the victims, euphemistically called "comfort women," was part of Monday's deal.

Abe's statement also includes an apology.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told a press conference in Seoul that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed apology and remorse⁴ from the heart for all the people suffering wounds and pains.

The statement, however, doesn't clearly stipulate⁵ a "legal responsibility," which the few surviving comfort women and their families have been demanding.

Survivors⁷ of wartime sex slavery in South Korea expressed disappointment over the deal

Yoo Hee-nam is a Korean woman forced into a Japanese military brothel during WWll.

The survivor⁶ said she accepts her government's decision but would not be satisfied until Japan takes full legal responsibility for its wartime actions.

"I cannot be satisfied for now (because the Japanese government did not mention legal responsibility or legal compensation in the agreement with South Korea). Because thinking about all those years we have lived so far, money does not matter for now, but what matters is that we have not been given human rights as human beings."

Historians say tens of thousands of women from around Asia, many of them Korean, were sent to front-line military brothels to provide sex to Japanese soldiers.

It's an issue which has held back ties between Japan and South Korea for years, and is also a sticking point in Sino-Japanese ties, as Chinese women too were also forced to work in brothels.

History professor Feng Wei with Fudan University says the United States play an important role in facilitating the agreement.

He believes Japan's compromise comes from its own military purposes.

"Japan made the compromise not because it was persuaded by the U.S. It is to adopt a rebalancing strategy to realize it's purpose of building a strong army with the help of the US "return to Asia" strategy. So we can expect a series of military operations by Japan and the US. Japan has set its target of military defense⁸ to the whole world."

For CRI, I'm Guo Yan.

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

3 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

4 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

5 stipulate   

vt.规定，（作为条件）讲定，保证

参考例句：

• International rules stipulate the number of foreign entrants.国际规则规定了外国参赛者的人数。
• Some manufacturers stipulate the price at which their goods are to be sold.有些制造商规定出售他们生产的商品的价格。

6 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

7 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。