Opinion: Why sudden shipwreck over 'comfort women'

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A sensational news item has gone viral in the Chinese cyberworld: The “Friend-Ship” of San Francisco and Osaka was suddenly “shipwrecked.”

"Japan’s Osaka to snap sister city link with San Francisco over 'comfort women' statue," said the Reuters report. Notably, this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of twin-city relations between the Japanese and US cities.

So why the break? What happened so unexpectedly?

“Comfort Women” statue in St Mary’s Square Annex

The statue "Comfort Women" Column of Strength by artist Steven Whyte is displayed at St Mary's Square in San Francisco. /AFP Photo

On September 22, the US Chinese media “Qiao Bao” reported that the Comfort Women Justice Coalition (CWJC), a community-based, non-profit organization devoted to achieving justice for the victims of sexual slavery by the Japanese military during WWII, had unveiled a monument dedicated to the “Comfort Women” in St Mary’s Square Annex in San Francisco.

On the same day, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee (Li Mengxian in Chinese) officially signed a resolution to accept a donation about 400,000 US dollars from CWJC and let the monument become public property of the city. In response, co-chair Guo Lelian and Deng Mengshi of CWJC expressed their gratitude to Lee for his support and publicly expressed their willingness to invite the mayor to hold a second ribbon-cutting ceremony.

This represents a milestone because this group of statues that originated in civil society has become the “public property” of San Francisco. Therefore, the municipal government is obliged to protect the statues according to law, as well as maintain them.

The monument angered Japan's government

Visitors at a "comfort women" monument in St Mary's Square in San Francisco on September 27. Comfort Women Justice Coalition, a local grassroots advocacy group devoted to bring justice for the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery during the World War Two, unveiled a monument dedicated to the "comfort women" in San Francisco on Friday. /Xinhua Photo‍

When the mayor shook hands with the leaders of CWJC, Japanese politicians and the media were infuriated. On the day of the unveiling, Japanese officials launched a media campaign aimed at distorting history, ruining a 60-year-old sister-city relationship and even successfully pressuring UNESCO to delay support of “comfort women” historical documents.

Hirofumi Yoshimura, the mayor of Osaka City, is at the center of the controversy. Mayor Yoshimura sent a clear threat to sever the twin-city relationship because of the new monument in an article posted last week. Besides, he and his colleagues have said repeatedly that the monument is creating outrage with “comfort women” supporters around the world.

“There is disagreement among historians regarding historical facts such as the number of comfort women, the degree to which the former Japanese army was involved and the extent of the wartime harm,” he said.

It seems that events have gone contrary to Mayor Yoshimura’s wishes. He himself admitted in a statement on November 24 that his proposal for a meeting with Mayor Lee had been rejected. Mayor Lee gave a stern rebuff that “there is no room for any negotiation on this issue.”

In fact, this is not the first time Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura has tried to put pressure on the Mayor of San Francisco on the issue. However, his actions have not worked, and even served to rouse public anger in America, especially among Chinese and Korean communities.

Japan must face history honestly

Korean "comfort women" survivor Yong-soo Lee (L) poses with a statue of late Korean "comfort women" survivor Kim Haksoon at St Mary's Square in San Francisco on September 22. /Xinhua Photo

The San Francisco mayor's endorsement of the City Council statue decision on November 22 is a great victory for international justice against efforts by Japan’s rising right-wing forces to cover up, falsify or remove historical truth and whitewash war crimes and crimes against humanity. This glorious triumph of international justice will greatly encourage those people of justice in China, the United States, and the ROK, as well as Chinese and Korean descendants in foreign lands.

In this issue, the world's media have witnessed a mean and shameful performance by a number of Japanese diplomats and officials. However, the brave people of San Francisco can never be bullied or fooled. We, Chinese people, are also not going to gloat about the breaking of the San Francisco-Osaka twin-city relationship, but just hold our best wishes that someday the Japanese Government can take this event as an opportunity to recognize their historical sin and moral responsibility. Only in this way can Japan lay down the historical burden of war and massacres and come to join the increasingly cohesive East Asian community of a shared future for mankind.

(Wang Peng is a research fellow at the Charhar Institute and China Institute of Fudan University, Shanghai. His areas of research include CPC building, Chinese foreign policy and Asia-Pacific international security. His research interests now focus on comprehensive strategic interactions between China and its neighbors, as well as the influence of the Belt and Road Initiative. The article reflects the author’s opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.)