China's top legislator Zhao Leji met with Hiroshi Moriyama, chairman of the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians' Union and secretary-general of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, in Beijing on Tuesday.
Zhao, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said that China stands ready to work with Japan to implement the important outcomes reached by the leaders of the two countries, abide by the principles and consensus of the four political documents between China and Japan, adhere to win-win cooperation, and promote the steady and long-term development of bilateral ties along the right track.
Zhao said the NPC is willing to carry out various forms of dialogue and exchanges with the Japanese side, and welcomes friends from all sectors in Japan to visit China.
Moriyama said that promoting the comprehensive advancement of the Japan-China strategic relationship of mutual benefit is the general direction for the development of bilateral ties.
The Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians' Union is ready to work with the Chinese side to enhance economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges, properly address differences, and foster mutual understanding, he added.
China's top legislator meets chairman of Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians' Union
The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.
The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.
Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.
"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.
Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.
Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.
"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.
Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight
