Zhu Qiaomei, the country's oldest surviving sex slave, or 'comfort woman', from the Japanese invasion during World War II, was cremated yesterday. She died on Sunday at the age of 96.

"Her only wish was to get justice," said her 68-year-old son, Zhou Xin.

Zhu, who lived in Chongming County, was first forced to be a 'comfort woman' by Japanese troops in 1938 when she was two months pregnant.

Along with seven other local women, she was made to provide sexual services for soldiers for about two years.

She made a notarized statement in 2001 that documented the crimes against her.

"Their miserable experience will not be forgotten," said Zhu Miaochun, a local lawyer who has volunteered since 2000 to help women who survived the experience seek justice.

Zhu and his partner, Su Zhiliang, director of the China Sex Slave Research Center, have helped several former sex slaves around the country sign notarized papers intended to be official records of their experiences.

According to Su, there are about 60 known surviving former sex slaves in the country, most of whom have not made notarized statements yet.

"It is urgent to retain the evidence by means of notarization since they are all in their 80s or 90s," Zhu said.

If they pass away, their statements have legal standing in court, officials from the notarization office said.

If they don't document their past experience, their history may be forgotten by society after their death, Zhu said.

He added that family members would be lacking in evidence when filing a suit for compensation later.

"If the Japanese government pays sex slaves compensation one day, Zhu's case will be included," said the lawyer.

An international symposium in 2000 on the issue of Chinese 'comfort women' found that China had suffered the most from sex slavery during the Japanese invasion, with 83 'comfort centers' having been set up in Shanghai alone.

(Shanghai Daily February 24, 2005)