A poster for the documentary

Twenty Two, a documentary about “comfort women” made by China, recently opened in Australia and New Zealand, and received positive comments from local audiences, chinanews.com reported on Sept. 12.

The documentary film, which features 22 Chinese “comfort women” who peacefully share their eyewitness accounts of history, made a debut in China on Aug. 14.

Its premiere in Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand, was a big success, with all 150 seats selling out. HOYTS Cinema in Australia now shows the film twice every day at prime time in the afternoon and evening.

At least 200,000 women were forced into sex slavery by the Japanese army during World War II. Twenty Two presents the daily life of the 22 survivors by recording their talks on the past, collecting the precious evidence of historical importance in a way without interrupting their life, said Richard Gray, a critic in Australia.

Tang Can, an overseas student in Australia, went to the premiere. The film shows people the life of the 22 survivors with an anti-war stance and humanitarianism, said Tang.

The “going out” of Chinese films like Twenty Two enables the world to know Chinese films and culture, said He Bo, a representative from China Lion Film, a distributor that is committed to promoting Chinese films in the global market.

The film touched local viewers, including Jan Ruff-O’Herne, a Dutch-Australian wartime sex slave. The Japanese government should apologize and offer compensations to the survivors in China, South Korea, Australia, and even the world at large, said Mrs. Ruff-O’Herne.

As of August, the number of survivors in China dropped to eight. They will soon all be gone, but the history they shared with us will never die. The Japanese government should acknowledge the crimes they have done on comfort women, as the world will never forget, said a China expert from Australia.