WWII "comfort woman" dies in Nanjing_社会生活

WWII "comfort woman" dies in Nanjing

文章来源：文章作者：发布时间：2007-04-27 00:58 字体： [大中小]　进入论坛

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Lei Guiying （File Photo）

Apr.26 - Lei Guiying, who was forced to work as a "comfort woman" by the Japanese army during the Second World War, died in Nanjing on Wednesday at the age of 79.

Lei died of a brain hemorrhage in the provincial¹ Chinese Medicine Hospital of Jiangsu, east China, after being admitted last Sunday.

Her death means the loss of an important personal account of the atrocities² committed by Japanese invaders³, historians said.

At the age of 13, Lei was raped⁴ by a Japanese soldier and was made to work in a Japanese-run brothel on the outskirts⁵ of Nanjing for two years. She later escaped but the ordeal⁶ left her with many scars and unable to have children.

After hiding her past from family and friends for more than 60 years, she went public with her experiences of Japanese army atrocities just last year.

"It's been more than 60 years now. I'm old and I didn't want to talk about such a shameful⁷ thing to other people. But then I thought, if I don't talk about it, they (Japanese WWII army) will get off too easily," she had said. "I need to let the world know the crimes they committed in Nanjing and I need them to address the issue."

In an interview last month with the Times newspaper, Lei said that she was ready to file a case against the Japanese government for its war crimes.

Jing Shenghong, a history professor at Nanjing Normal University, said that Lei's testimony⁸ was important evidence and it was very regretful that she had passed away.

"There is a lot of material evidence to prove the existence of the sex slave quarters in Nanjing, but human accounts are scant," Jing said. "Lei was a brave woman, and should be respected by all of us. It's a huge loss to all of us," said a man, who did not wish to be named, outside the hospital in which Lei died.

The issue of wartime sex slavery was back in the international press last month when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that there were no documents to prove the Japanese military had physically⁹ coerced¹⁰ women into providing sex for its soldiers during the Second World War.

Abe later reiterated¹¹ his apology over wartime sex slavery in an interview with the U.S. magazine Newsweek, saying "as Japan's prime minister, I am extremely sorry that they were made to endure such pain. We feel responsible for the situation in which women had to exist as 'comfort women' and endure such hardship."

An estimated 200,000 women were forced to serve as sex slaves for Japanese forces during World War II.

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1 provincial
adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人
参考例句：
City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

2 atrocities
n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪
参考例句：
They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。来自《简明英汉词典》 The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 invaders
入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )
参考例句：
They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。 The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

4 raped
v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸
参考例句：
A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。来自辞典例句 We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。来自辞典例句

5 outskirts
n.郊外，郊区
参考例句：
Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。 They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

6 ordeal
n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验
参考例句：
She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。 Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

7 shameful
adj.可耻的，不道德的
参考例句：
It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。 We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

8 testimony
n.证词；见证，证明
参考例句：
The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。 He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

9 physically
adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律
参考例句：
He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。 Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

10 coerced
v.迫使做( coerce的过去式和过去分词 )；强迫；（以武力、惩罚、威胁等手段）控制；支配
参考例句：
They were coerced into negotiating a settlement. 他们被迫通过谈判解决。 He was coerced into making a confession. 他被迫招供。来自《简明英汉词典》

11 reiterated
反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
"Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹 Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

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