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http://www.womenofchina.cn/html/womenofchina/report/15051880-1.htm?=mail
CHINA COMFORT WOMEN OF SHANXI PROVINCE, WORLD WAR II
SEX SLAVES, REMEMBERED IN POWERFUL, EMOTIONAL CHINESE FILM
Editor: Kiki
Liu May 20, 2015
|
A
former-comfort woman from north China's Shanxi Province sheds tears while
sharing the nightmare-like experience with audiences as soon as the film is
finished on May 18. The powerful and emotional movie "Great Cold",
about Chinese comfort women directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yueping is
announced to be completed on May 18. It is considered the first film centered
on comfort women from north China's Shanxi Province. [Chinanews.com] |
A powerful and
emotional movie about Chinese comfort women directed by local filmmaker
Zhang Yueping, was completed on May 18, according to an official announcement.
"Great Cold" which will be released in the region is the first
such feature film to center on comfort women from north China's Shanxi
Province.
A Moment of
Heartbreak
The film is set in
several different cities across Shanxi in the early 1940s, where numerous
Chinese women and girls, the so-called comfort women, were forced into sexual
servitude by the Japanese Imperial Army before and during World War II
(1939-1945).
Addressing various
psychological problems faced by those female survivors during the war, the film
reflects on how their past nightmarish memories and experiences affected them.
The film's plot-line relied on a survey and traveling investigation conducted
by a former primary school teacher Zhang Shuangbing.
In fact, Zhang's
involvement into the world of comfort women was almost an accident. Around 30
years ago, he returned from a school trip one fall and was struck by the sight
of a solitary old woman, who was harvesting millet with great difficulty.
"Helping her
with the farm work, I later learned that the woman named Hou Dong'e was raped
and put into sex slavery by Japanese Imperial officers. At that time, China had
no files or records about the comfort women. Shocked by Hou's situation, I made
several visits to certain places in Shanxi to record the miserable lives of
more female victims, taking down their accounts of humiliation and helping them
file lawsuits," recalled Zhang.
According to
Zhang, thousands of Asian women were bound into sexual enslavement, among which
at least 60 percent were divorced or unprovided for. As for Shanxi alone, 127
former comfort women were identified and 300 witnesses' stories were recorded.
Together with his team of volunteers, Zhang wandered through Shanxi Province
and recorded what he saw and felt about those comfort women's current lives.
Later, in 2011, Zhang compiled his findings into a book titled "Women in
Japanese Wartime Camps."
"The film is
shot based on my findings", he said.
Only 12 survivors
are now alive. More than a hundred victims passed away without receiving any
official apology from the Japanese government. Our great promises for the
anti-war times and wishes for peace are still forthcoming," said Zhang,
adding that it was an urgent need to convey more about the vulnerable groups
through the film, which can be seen as its main motivation.
"We want to
remind people through the familiar or realistic scenes about Chinese comfort
women, not to instill hatred, but for peace," explained Zhang.
Implied Meaning
Just for Peace
The feature film's
title "Great Cold" refers to the last solar cycle in
24 solar cycles. It comes around January 20 each year,
and symbolizes the cold atmosphere and attitude that those who committed
the crimes (the Japanese Imperial Army) took to the comfort women mainly in
Asia.
"We named it
after the last solar term of the Chinese lunar calendar because of our great
hope for the upcoming warmth after the severe cold," explained the
director.
"Just as in
the line 'If winter comes, can spring be far behind?' by British poet Percy
Shelley from his 'Ode to the West Wind,' we hope that film can warm victims'
hearts by exposing the facts in a proper and real way," said Zhang.
When mentioning
the special shooting locations in Shanxi, filmmaker Zhang describes how Yu
County was one of the places that suffered the worst destruction by the
Japanese Imperial Army, as well as the place where the most women and girls
were raped. Therefore, including Yu County in the upcoming film makes it all
the more vivid for viewers.
Great Expectation
for Facing It Squarely
Earlier in May
this year, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe used the term "victims of
human trafficking" as an alternative term for "comfort women",
causing a stir worldwide.
Senior officials
from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) criticized Abe's remarks
as an intolerable insult to victims. Spokesperson Hua Chunying from China
pointed out that Abe's misleading statement would exert a negative influence on
China-Japanese relations.
In fact, China,
along with South Korea and other Asian countries that were invaded by the
Japanese Imperial Army, has always been, insistently, supplied evidence to
testify to the existence of comfort women.
South Korea has
established memorial sculptures and a museum to remember the terrible history
about comfort women who suffered during World War II. Meanwhile, people from
southeast China's Taiwan built the "Comfort Women & International
Women's Rights Museum" to educate more people on the topic.
Last year, China
released its first comfort women themed drama "Er Yuelan" in Nanjing,
another place where individuals were raped by the Japanese Imperial Army,
partly based on the book the "The Rape of Nanking" by the American
journalist of Chinese origin, Iris Shun-Ru Chang (1968-2004).
Memoirs of comfort
women were released one after another to refute Abe's distorted views about
those affected. Meanwhile, the ongoing commemoration of the 70th anniversary to
celebrate the victory of China's anti-aggression war provided another facet of
evidence to the terrible behavior conducted at the time by the Japanese
Imperial Army. As one of the foundation blocks to provide evidence for comfort
women, the above-mentioned film is scheduled to premiere in September this
year.