By Zhang Haizhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-12-15 09:46

The approval of the resolution on "comfort women" by the European Parliament demonstrates that the international community is unified on the issue, Chinese experts said.

Wu Baiyi, deputy director of the Institute of European Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said: "The passing of similar motions in the United States, Canada and the EU this year indicates that the 'comfort women' issue has become a global concern."

He said the EU approved the resolution mostly because it is in essence a human rights issue, which traditionally draws attention in European politics.

"It is also a moral issue," Wu said.

Professor Zhou Yongsheng of the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, said that by passing the resolution, the EU is seeking to go beyond country-to-country relations and address the issue from the perspective of the whole of mankind.

But he said there is only a slim chance of the problem being resolved in the short term because the Japanese government "is unwilling to take full responsibility".

He said Japan is likely to stick to an official statement issued in 1993, in which it acknowledged the State's role in the wartime system and apologized to the victims, but fell short of providing compensation.

"The Japanese government has been quite passive on the 'comfort women' issue," Zhou said.

"Hopefully, growing pressure from the international community will encourage it to adopt a more positive attitude and consider paying full compensation to the victims."