China appreciates Papua New Guinea's (PNG)'s decision to close the "Taipei Economic Office" in the country, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Friday, in commenting on reports about the PNG government's announcement to this effect on July 15.
"China highly appreciates the PNG government's closure of the so-called 'Taipei Economic Office.' This once again demonstrates that upholding the one-China principle is where global opinion trends and the arc of history bends," said Lin Jian, the spokesman, at a press conference in Beijing.
PNG's closure of "Taipei Economic Office" reflects general trend of international community: spokesman
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday urged efforts to carry out search and rescue operations in a scientific manner after a landslide struck a county in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, leaving people trapped and missing.
The landslide occurred at 9:08 Friday in Hanjia Sub-district along a section of the Wujiang River in Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County, burying several residential buildings at the foot of the mountain. Ten people had been rescued as of 14:00, according to local authorities.
In his instructions, Xi stressed the need for scientific search and rescue operations to prevent secondary disasters, and called for proper medical treatment for the injured and appropriate arrangements for the aftermath. He also urged relevant departments to identify the cause of the disaster, draw lessons from this case and conduct thorough inspections to eliminate geological hazards. Xi emphasized that all regions and relevant departments must further fulfill their safety responsibilities, strengthen monitoring, early warning and risk inspection systems, and ensure that all work is carried out in a concrete and meticulous manner, so as to effectively protect the lives and property of the people.
The Ministry of Natural Resources on Friday raised its geological disaster emergency response to Level II from Level III and dispatched a working team to the site.
A four-tier emergency response system is in place for geological disasters, with Level I being the most severe.
Xi urges scientific search and rescue efforts after Chongqing landslide
