By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

MANILA, Philippines –

A small number of former Philippine comfort women continued peaceful protests during Japanese Emperor Akihito’s state visit to the Philippines last week. In his talks with Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III, Mr. Akihito failed to address the issue of the comfort women, who were forced into sexual slavery by members of the Japanese military during World War II.

Mr. Akihito’s state visit marks the 60^th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Philippines. Mr. Akihito met with Mr. Aquino during his state visit and addressed the Japanese military’s World War II atrocities, but made no mention of the comfort women.

A presidential spokesman for Mr. Aquino stated last week that the issue of the comfort woman should be addressed by Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, instead of the emperor. Mr. Akihito’s position is largely ceremonial, but he has earned the respect of the Japanese people and may be in a prime position to apologize to the Philippine comfort women.

While the plight of Korean women forced into sex slavery during World War II is well known, there were also many comfort women who came from China and the Philippines. Researchers believe that over 1,000 comfort women came from the Philippines. 70 of those women are still alive.

One prior Phillipine comfort woman, Hilaria Bustamante, was abducted by Japanese soldiers in 1943 and taken to a Japanese garrison, where she was raped multiple times a day for 15 months. Ms. Bustamante is the oldest living Philippine comfort woman at this time, and says she will join street protests to continue the campaign to secure formal reparations from Japan.

In December 2015, Japan issued a formal apology to the South Korean women who were forced into sex slavery, along with a $8.3 million reparation payment. Japan has not made similar apologies to the comfort women of other countries, including the Philippines. Japan has made reparation payments, but those payments come from the private sector instead of the Japanese government. The former Philippine comfort women want formal reparations from the Japanese government itself instead, as well as recognition of their ordeal in Japan’s history books.

The issue of the Philippine comfort women may be overshadowed by the substantial trade agreements between Japan and the Philippines as well as their shared concern over China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea. Both Japan and the Philippines have territorial disputes with China over the South China Sea.

 

For more information, please see:

The New York Times – In Philippines, World War II’s Lesser-Known Sex Slaves Speak Out – 29 January 2016

Manila Bulletin – PH’s WWII Sex Slaves Demand Justice From Japan – 26 January 2016

Al Jazeera – Filipino Comfort Women Seek Talks With Japan’s Emperor – 25 January 2016

International Business Times – Japanese Emperor Visits Philippines Amid World War II Sex Slave, South China Sea Issues – 25 January 2016

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

Chinese authorities have ordered a prominent women’s legal aid center in Beijing to shut down. The Beijing Zhongze Women’s Legal Counseling and Service Center, a product of the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, was not given a reason for the closing.

The center, led by attorney Guo Jianmei, was set up as an independent non-governmental organization (NGO) at Peking University and later moved to Beijing. The center provided legal assistance concerning rights issues regarding domestic violence, child custody, land rights, and employment for twenty years.

At the time of the center’s founding, China was struggling to receive international acceptance following the Tiananmen Square massacre a few years earlier. The center’s opening was symbolic because it signified a significant move toward greater civil freedoms.

The center’s closing shocked many women’s rights advocates. In the past, it has been China’s official policy to promote gender equality and the status of women. China had also just expressed its dedication to women’s rights at the United Nations conference in September. The center had a good reputation and Chinese authorities seemed to tolerate the work that the center was doing, according to Maya Wang of advocacy group Human Rights Watch.

Colleagues of Ms. Guo believe that authorities shut down the center in part because of its foreign funding. The center was unable to receive domestic funding because its work did not conform with governmental objectives. In the past, Chinese authorities have been known to blame independent advocacy organizations of taking money from foreign entities that want to destabilize the country.

The high-profile cases that the center had taken in the past could also have contributed to its closing. One of the center’s most high profile clients was Li Yan, a woman sentenced to death for murdering her husband. Ms. Li’s sentence was commuted by a court last year.

The closing of the center is only one of the many measures the Chinese government has taken recently to curb the civil liberties of its citizens.

 

For more information, please see:

Shanghaiist – Chinese Authorities Order Beijing-based Women’s Legal Aid Center to Shut Down – 30 January 2016

South China Morning Post – Leading Woman’s Rights Group to Shut Down as China Tightens Squeeze on Civil Society – 30 January 2016

The New York Times – China is Said to Force Closing of Women’s Legal Aid Center – 29 January 2016

China Digital Times – Guangzhou Activists Sentenced; Beijing Women’s Legal Aid Center Closed – 29 January 2016