CGTN：Remembering History: Chinese 'Comfort Women' scholar Su Zhiliang: the tragedy must be brought to light

来源：CGTN 2025年12月12日

标题：Remembering History: Chinese 'Comfort Women' scholar Su Zhiliang: the tragedy must be brought to light

Nearly a century has passed since Imperial Japan forced women into sexual slavery. Historical records confirm more than 2,100 "comfort stations" across China were part of Japan's wartime system in the 1930s and 1940s. Professor Su Zhiliang, the first Chinese scholar to spend over three decades studying this system, spoke with CGTN's Bi Ran to shed light on these brutal crimes and the lasting reflections on this dark chapter of history.

On the campus of Shanghai Normal University stands a bronze statue of two young girls—eyes resolute, fists clenched. The "Comfort Women" Statues for Peace, depicting a Chinese and a Korean girl, honors more than 400,000 victims from 11 Asian countries and regions who were forced into sexual slavery by Japanese troops during World War II.

Professor Su Zhiliang, the first Chinese scholar to study this atrocity in depth, recounts the tears, blood, and harsh historical truths behind the "comfort women" tragedy.

SU ZHILIANG, Head, Chinese Centre for "Comfort Women" Research, Author, Japanese Military "Comfort Women" System series "In 1992, while conducting research at the University of Tokyo, I learned about the 'comfort women' issue and witnessed some of the earliest survivor protests. When I realized that the first comfort station might have been in Shanghai, I felt that, as a Chinese scholar, I could not stay on the sidelines."

Since 1993, Professor Su has devoted over 30 years to uncovering the truth. In 1999, he founded Shanghai Normal University's Chinese Centre for "Comfort Women" Research. Together with his wife, Professor Chen Lifei, he traveled across China, identifying more than 300 survivors and authenticating diaries, letters and local archives—evidence that clearly documents the abuses and the Japanese military's direct involvement.

SU ZHILIANG, Head, Chinese Centre for "Comfort Women" Research, Author, Japanese Military "Comfort Women" System series "In August 1945, as Japan faced defeat, the military destroyed evidence from top to bottom. Much was lost. Since the 1990s, we have searched for survivors one by one. Many victims of such brutal sexual violence could not speak even at the end of their lives. In China, we identified 358 survivors, and 24 of them went to Tokyo to sue Japan. They lost the case, but the courts nonetheless acknowledged their victimhood."

SU ZHILIANG, Head, Chinese Centre for "Comfort Women" Research, Author, Japanese Military "Comfort Women" System series "We can never see the entire iceberg. Only the tip is visible. But even that small part is terrifying. Japan is moving backward. In the mid-1990s, Japanese history textbooks were at their most honest, acknowledging wartime wrongdoing. At the same time, the current Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who was then a lawmaker, began to speak for the rising right-wing movement. She challenged then prime minister Tomiichi Murayama, on why, in his capacity as prime minister, admitted on behalf of Japan that the war of aggression was wrong. Their persistent rhetoric forced history textbooks to retreat step by step. Today, only a handful still mention the atrocities. So Japan's younger generation grows up unclear about the past, without the knowledge needed for reflection. Japan is dissolving its historical memory, trying to reinvent itself as a 'normal country.' That is frightening."

As Professor Su noted, this history must be exposed. Chinese scholars have a duty to uncover the facts, helping both the Chinese public and the international community understand the truth of this dark chapter. Bi Ran, CGTN, Shanghai.

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