Your Immediate Action is Required! The Fort Lee City Council will have a meeting on April 4, 2013.

WHAT WE WANT

We urge the government of the Borough of Fort Lee, NJ (Mayor and city council) to revise the wording and design of its proposed “Comfort Women” memorial to make it appropriate and unambiguous.

[To Sign Our Petition Click Here]

BACKGROUND

On January 10, 2013, Fort Lee City Council conditionally passed a Comfort Women Memorial Proposal. The Fort Lee municipal government’s action could be unanimously welcomed by the Asian American community. However, the proposed language and design of the memorial include many inappropriate and controversial expressions that may cause strong opposition from Comfort Women survivors, their supporters, and the Asian American Community.

The proposed wording read:

“In remembrance of over 200,000 women from every country in East Asia who were forced into sexual service by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II, with terrible consequences to themselves and to their children. This monument is erected to honor their memory: these “Comfort Women” have not been forgotten. “

1. “Every country in East Asia”: This expression may sound derogatory to Asian Americans by implying “you are all the same.” People in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia do not consider themselves as “East Asian”; rather they call themselves as “South East Asian.” In addition, the expression misses the fact that there were many western women who were victimized as well. We ask the Fort Lee municipal government to list specific countries such as Korea, China, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Indonesia.

2. “Sexual Service”: It implies “commercial prostitution” and, therefore insinuates that the sexual act was done “voluntarily.” We strongly ask the Fort Lee municipal government to change it “sexual slavery.”

3. “The Japanese Imperial Army”: It is not only the army, but also the navy and the air force who sexually exploited the women. The correct wording should be “the Armed Forces of Imperial Japan.”

4. “…with terrible consequences to themselves and to their children”: We are still trying to figure out what this phrase means. Grammatically, “themselves” should denote “the Japanese Imperial Army,” which is the nearest noun phrase doing an action, and in that case, “their children” refers to the army soldier’s children. Are we commemorating the suffering of Japanese soldiers and their children? It is total nonsense. It must be replaced with appropriate and clear language.

5. The Rising Sun Flag: The proposed design contains a drawing of a woman sitting in front of the Rising Sun Flag. Most of Asian Americans have a strong repugnance to the flag. The designer may have simply intended to depict “Japan” with the flag. However, it only causes feelings of strong animosity against Japan. Also, it is inappropriate to put the perpetrator’s symbol on a memorial for the victims. It can be compared to putting a Nazi Swastika on a Holocaust memorial. We recommend the removal of the Rising Sun Flag from the monument.

6. The Girl Statue: The proposed design contains a drawing of a Korean girl. It appears very similar to the statue in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, Korea. It looks okay. However, if we consider the fact that we are commemorating ALL THE VICTIMS FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES and we are building the memorial for all Asian American communities in Fort Lee, NJ, the Korean girl statue will be too narrow to represent all the victims. Therefore, we recommend changing the design to be more inclusive.

TAKE ACTION

Online Petition: Click Here to Sign Our Petition
Call Now: Mayor Mark Sokolich – Tel. 201-592-3500 x 1500

Your Immediate Action is Required! The Fort Lee City Council will have a meeting on April 4, 2013.   WHAT WE WANT We urge the government of the Borough of Fort Lee, NJ (Mayor and city council) to revise the wording and design of its proposed “Comfort Women” memorial to make it appropriate and unambiguous. [To Sign Our Petition Click Here] BACKGROUND On January 10, 2013, Fort Lee City Council [...]

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2012 is a very important voting year for all of the elections. In New Jersey, people can vote for the president, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representative, County Freeholder, Town Council, and the Board of Election. We are looking foward to the participation of many Korean Americans. KACE is hosting the following candidate debates.

2012 General Election Candidate Open Debate

Englewood Cliffs Council

When: October 12, 2012 Friday 6:30-8pm

Where: Englewood Cliffs Lion's Club (1 Clendinen Place, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632)

Hosted by: KACE (Korean American Civic Empowerment)

Bergen County Freeholder

When: October 18, 2012 Thursday 6pm-8pm 

Where: KCC Korean Community Center (40 Bennett Rd, Englewood, NJ 07631)

&

U.S. Congress New Jersey 9^th District

October 25, 2012 Thursday 6pm-8pm 

Where: KCC Korean Community Center (40 Bennett Rd, Englewood, NJ 07631)

Hosted by: Korean American Civic Empowerment, Korean American Civic Action Committee 

Co-Sponsor: Korean American Association of Fort Lee, Korean American Association of Palisades Park, Korean American Association of New Jersey, Korean American Senior Citizen's Association of New Jersey and KCC Korean Community Center

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