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Book on Taiwan condemned
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NPC deputies and CPPCC members of Taiwan origin slashed out at the book "On Taiwan" authored by Yoshinori Kobayashi as having distorted history, covered up the crimes of Japanese invaders and prettified the colonial rule of Taiwan by Japan.
In his book, Japanese cartoonist Yoshinori Kobayashi quotes Hsu Wen-lung, chairman of Taiwan's Chi Mei Group, as saying that many comfort women -- used to service Japanese troops -- were willing to accept their role.
"It was by no means possible that a woman would be forced into the military camp at that time. The Japanese military put a lot of emphasis on human rights. It was even something of a glory for those conscripted," Shi was quoted as saying.
Chen Zhengtong, a Taiwan-born CPPCC National Committee member and vice-chairman of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League, said the book distorts the history of Taiwan people's struggle against Japanese occupation, and yet, Taiwan separatist forces have gone even so far as to heap praises on the book. This is a full revelation of the feature of traitors and collaborators, he noted.
Born in 1939 in Taiwan, Chen witnessed the tyranny and exploitation of the Taiwan people by the Japanese colonists.
"History brooks no distortion," he said. "How can killing and plunder by Japanese occupationists be called 'contributions' to Taiwan?"
Lin Donghai, another CPPCC National Committee member who spent his youth in Taiwan, said that it is a great insult to Taiwan people for the book to describe Taiwan "comfort women" as "voluntary".
He exposed that Japanese invaders recruited students from schools in the name of serving as nurses but in fact they were forced to serve as "comfort women", adding that it was exactly for the purpose of escaping such forced recruitment that his sister had to get married before finishing the middle school.
Zhang Xidong, an NPC deputy and president of the Fujian Provincial Federation of Taiwan Compatriots, said the publication of the book is a very dangerous signal. "It is not an isolated event," he noted. "It is a new expression of the stepped-up collusion between forces for Taiwan independence in Taiwan and Japanese militarists in their fresh attempt to alienate Taiwan from China."
"History brooks no distortion or tempering. The fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory will never change," Zhang said.
The book on Taiwan also sparked criticism from Chinese government officials.
An official with the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) said Hsu's acts make Taiwan people see more clearly that the position of Taiwan separatists comes down in one continuous line with the humble mind of feudatory.
It lays bare his nature to betray the Chinese nation and Taiwan people, the ARATS official said.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said last Thursday that the Japanese occupied Taiwan by force for half a century, inflicting great pain and suffering upon Taiwanese people. The comfort women issue is a historic fact that cannot be denied, she noted.
The book on Taiwan is a great insult to comfort women and has enraged all Chinese people including Taiwan compatriots by glorifying Japanese aggression. We must remain vigilant against Japanese militarism, the spokeswoman said.(SD-Xinhua)
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