THE controversial issue of comfort women will not be on the agenda of the Chinese delegation to the Non-Governmental Organisations' (NGO) Forum on Women in Beijing this September.
An official from China's NGO Forum Office at the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) in Beijing said yesterday there would be 42 workshops organised by the Chinese delegation to the forum but none focused on the women Japanese troops forced to act as sex slaves during World War II.
Instead, the workshops look at employment, business management and environmental issues.
Unlike their counterparts in the West, NGOs in China will participate as one delegation led by the quasi-official ACWF, which will dictate the topics.
More than 30,000 women from all over the world are expected to participate in the NGO Forum held in tandem with the United Nations World Conference on Women this September.
South Korean, Japanese, Philippine and Canadian NGOs fighting for reparations and acknowledgement of comfort women's plights have planned to raise the issue when they meet in Beijing, according to Tong Zeng, a private campaigner for China's war reparations movement.
'Many [NGOs from outside China] have contacted me saying that they will discuss the issue at the forum. China is one of the worst victims . . . I think the Government will think about it, and allow some civilian organisations to do something,' Mr Tong said.
