People watch a "comfort women" monument at St. Mary Square in San Francisco, the United States, on Sept. 22, 2017. Comfort Women Justice Coalition, a local grassroots advocacy group devoted to bring justice for the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery during the World War Two, unveiled a monument dedicated to the "comfort women" in San Francisco on Friday. (Xinhua/Ma Dan)
In a statement released on the occasion, the CWJC said that "through our memorial, we remember all our grandmothers who are alive, and all those who have passed on but are still with us in both spirit and memory."
Julie Tang and Lillian Sing, both judges of the Superior Court of San Francisco County who retired two years ago and co-chair the CWJC, vowed to erect more memorials around the United States.
Tang told Xinhua that during 26 years as a judge, she had to "make sure in each case that if somebody committed a crime, the person would be held accountable." However, in the instance of "comfort women," the criminals "went away and got free, there was no justice for the comfort women."
Asked what the memorial means for her, Sing pointed at herself and at reporters at a press briefing, saying that it reflects the soul of everybody with a conscience.
"It is my soul, it is your soul, and it should be the soul of everybody," she said.
