SHANGHAI -- The Chinese mainland has 14 surviving "comfort women" to date, said the Research Center for Comfort Women at Shanghai Normal University on Saturday.

Saturday marks the ninth International Memorial Day for the "Comfort Women," which refers to victims forced into sexual slavery by Japanese troops during World War II.

In May, three "comfort women" were added to the list after researchers confirmed their experiences based on on-site visits and cross-examinations.

"One of the old women trembled and wept at the mention of the past. She is still haunted by nightmares even these days," said Chen Lifei, a professor at Shanghai Normal University and a member of the research team at the center.

The center has set up a fund for "comfort women" research and assistance, which provides assistance to the victims and supports relevant research.

Previous research showed some 400,000 women in Asia were forced to be "comfort women" for the Japanese army during World War II and nearly half of them were Chinese.