China urges Japan to accelerate the destruction of chemical weapons secretly buried or abandoned by Japanese aggressor troops on the eve of their defeat in 1945 during World War II, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lin Jian said on Tuesday.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between China and Japan on the Destruction of Abandoned Chemical Weapons (ACWs), but the destruction process is far lagging behind the time limit set by the two sides.
"Japan's abandonment of chemical weapons in China is one of the heinous crimes committed by the Japanese militarists during Japan's war of aggression against China. To date, they are still threatening the safety of Chinese people's lives, property and the ecological environment in China," Lin said at a press conference in Beijing.
Lin said China has been pressing Japan to destroy the abandoned chemical weapons as soon as possible in accordance with the provisions of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (CWC) and the MoU signed in 1999. "Japan has already excavated and recovered about 130,000 pieces of Japanese ACWs and destroyed nearly 100,000 of them. But due to Japans' insufficient and unbalanced involvement, the overall destruction pace of Japanese ACWs has seriously lagged behind and missed the deadlines for the destruction four times. It has been severely hampered and disrupted as some key and difficult problems have yet to be resolved," Lin said.
"To remove the hazardous ACWs is Japan's unshirkable historical, political and legal responsibility. China strongly urges Japan to take China's concerns serious, earnestly fulfill its obligations, increase input on all fronts, speed up the destruction process of Japanese ACWs and fully and faithfully implement the destruction plan in its entirety so as to return a clean land to the Chinese people at an early date," he said.
China urges Japan to speed up destruction of abandoned chemical weapons
Scenic spots were shut, crops were harvested and residents were evacuated to temporary shelters on Sunday in east China's Zhejiang Province, as the East China Sea coastal province took proactive steps to safeguard local residential communities before the arrival of Typhoon Bebica.
Typhoon Bebinca, the 13th this year, made landfall near the Chinese financial hub of Shanghai on Monday morning.
Before its landfall, the scenic spot of Haitian Yizhou (which literally means "Ocean-Heaven Shoal"), nestled on the Hangzhou Bay Cross-Sea Bridge, was abruptly closed on Sunday morning.
Unwary travelers who ventured there were promptly advised to depart, with local authorities also temporarily blocking access roads.
In Huzhou, a city of Zhejiang, gusts whipped up waves as high as two meters along the south bank of Lake Taihu on Sunday afternoon, prompting the closure of the scenic area and the safe evacuation of visitors.
Similar protective measures were enacted in Wenzhou, where a beach was closed.
To protect mature farm crops from the onslaught of Bebica, efforts have been made throughout Zhejiang to harvest those that are ripe for picking. In the city of Pinghu, farmers were seen toiling diligently to gather their ripe yields before the arrival of the typhoon.
Greenhouses across the region were reinforced to resist the battering winds and heavy rains, with meticulous drainage preparations underway to protect from waterlogging.
In Tongxiang City, farmers hastened the persimmon harvest to prevent fruit loss.
"For us, the top priority is to finish persimmons harvest before the typhoon arrives. Persimmons are heavy, and once the rain comes, they may easily fall onto the ground," said Yang Mengxian, a farmer.
The aquaculture community also sprang into action, accelerating the harvest of aquatic goods and fortifying their dwellings in key bases like Ninghai and Cixi.
As a precaution, the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued a directive to enhance coordination of cold storage facilities for storing freshly harvested fruits and vegetables, aiming to minimize the impact of the typhoon on agricultural production.
Temporary shelters have been put into use in Ningbo to house residents evacuated from vulnerable or dilapidated structures prone to geological disasters and flash floods.
As the Mid-autumn Festival draws near, a time for family reunions, evacuees were not only provided with essential supplies but also traditional mooncakes.
An indoor stadium of a local primary school, which has been repurposed as a temporary shelter for the first time, started to receive local residents evacuated.
"People keeps coming to this site, and locals prefers staying at this shelter when the typhoon hits. Once the rainstorm subsides, we will send them back home safe and sound," said Zhou Shanhua, manager of the temporary shelter.
To cope with Typhoon Bebica, Daishan County of Zhejiang's Zhoushan City has set up 14 temporary shelters.
The largest venue, situated within a local school, has already received over 1,500 evacuees transported from a nearby island, ensuring their safety and well-being.
East China's Zhejiang takes precautions against Typhoon Bebica
East China's Zhejiang takes precautions against Typhoon Bebica
