Dec. 13, 1937 marks the beginning of the Nanjing Massacre, one of the worst atrocities in the past century over six weeks, when Japanese troops captured the city of Nanjing and killed hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and soldiers.

While the number of surviving witnesses is dropping, 88-year-old Xia Shuqin is still waiting for a formal apology from the government of Japan. 

CCTV’s Su Xiaoxiao reports. 

Seventy-nine years have passed, yet the war-time nightmare still haunts 88-year-old Xia Shuqin.

She has spent much of her adult life telling the story of the Nanjing Massacre.

Last year, the University of Southern California invited her to film a documentary about the war crimes committed by the Japanese army.

For five consecutive days, Xia recorded 10 hours of recollections. The Chinese government said there are only about a hundred witnesses of the massacre still living in China.

Many witnesses have died without ever hearing what they said was a sufficient apology from the Japanese government. The anniversary of the invasion has become a national day of remembrance across China.

Xia Shuqin hopes she can live long enough to hear the Japanese government make a much belated apology, not only to her, but also to all the victims of the Nanjing Massacre and to the entire Chinese nation.