Eight Chinese women who were forced to be sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II recently filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government, demanding a public apology and compensation for their suffering.

All of the women, now in their 70s, belong to the Li ethnic group of south China's island province of Hainan. In the 1940s, when they became the so called "comfort women" after Japanese troops took over the island, they were between 14 and 18 years old.

A group of lawyers from both China and Japan have volunteered to assist them, with legal fees to be covered by a group of Chinese and Japanese who advocate China-Japan friendship.

According to a local official, the Japanese troops set up several "comfort houses" in Hainan during their occupation, and some 20 of the "comfort women" are still living, mostly living in solitude and still bearing the scars of their treatment at the hands of Japanese soldiers.

A Tokyo court dismissed a similar suit on May 30, 2001, rejecting the request from another group of Chinese "comfort women" for compensation.

The All-China Lawyers' Association, the All-China Women's Federation, and the China Foundation for Human Rights Development then voiced strong support for the Chinese war victims and promised to help protect their legal rights and interests.

( December 2, 2001)