Authors:
- Xiaoyang Hao, 比較社会文化研究院 (Faculty of Social and Cultural Studies), 九州大学 (Kyushu University) - Academia.edu, ORCID

- Jiabao Pan: ORCID

Abstract: »The ‘comfort women’ issue does not find expression in Chinese school history textbooks, which leads to the question of how the populace generally perceives comfort women victims and whether there is a collective memory of comfort women in China. While existing scholarship has shed light on the official discourse surrounding the issue, public discourse has only received scant academic attention. This article bridges the scholarly gap by examining the portrayal of comfort women on the microblog Weibo from 2010 to 2020. It argues that the online discussion is mostly driven by anti-Japanese nationalist sentiments and the public interest in entertainment and celebrity news. The release of the Chinese documentary Twenty-Two, featuring comfort women survivors, has facilitated public understanding of the comfort women issue and directed popular attention to the victims. The findings of this research deliver new insights into the collective memory of contested historical and gender issues, contributing to media memory studies.« (Source: Women's History Review)

Wikipedia: History of Asia: History of China / History of the Republic of China, History of the People's Republic of China | History of Asia: History of Japan / Shōwa era | Memory: Collective memory | New media: Microblogging / Weibo | Prostitution: Forced prostitution / Comfort women | Sex and the law: Wartime sexual violence / Wartime sexual violence in World War II | War: Pacific War / Japanese war crimes