Taipei, Dec. 14 (CNA) Taiwan joined seven other countries in a global protest Wednesday against the Japan government for having forced thousands of women in Asia into sex slavery during World War II. The protest in Taiwan, organized by the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation (TWRF), was held to mark the 1,000th weekly demonstration in South Korea since 1992 to demand that Japan make a public apology to former comfort women for the suffering they endured. "We held this activity because comfort women in Taiwan and South Korea suffered the same pain," said Kang Shu-hua, executive director of TWRF, at the rally near the Japan Interchange Association, the country's de facto embassy in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties. Describing sexual violence toward women as a crime that is "unforgivable," TWRF Chairwoman Hwang Shu-ling urged the Japanese government to apologize for its wartime atrocities. The TWRF also took the opportunity to remember those Taiwanese former comfort women that were still alive and also those who died without obtaining the apology they had long sought, Kang told CNA. On a rainy evening, attendees at the memorial service were invited to light white candles and form the number 1,000 on the ground. The candles symbolize hope and blessing for the comfort women, said the TWRF, an organization that has been dedicated to helping Taiwanese comfort women seek justice and compensation from the Japanese government for nearly 20 years. People in more than 40 cities from eight countries, such as Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Taiwan and the United States, joined South Korea in its 1,000th Wednesday demonstration against the Japanese government. Along with Taiwan, women from China, South Korea and the Philippines suffered the fate of being forced to provide sexual services for Japanese forces. Some 2,000 Taiwanese women were driven into such service, according to the TWRF. (By Elaine Hou)