Italian president tours Summer Palace in Beijing

Italian President Sergio Mattarella toured the Summer Palace in Beijing on Thursday, after arriving in China earlier in the day for a six-day state visit at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The once imperial garden, located in the western suburb of Beijing, is the first place the Italian president visited on his first trip to China since February 2017.

He was accompanied by his daughter Laura and several Italian ministerial officials.

During the nearly one-hour trip, Mattarella learned about stories in China's history and garden landscaping in the long corridor, climbed atop the Longevity Hill to explore similarities and differences between Chinese and Italian religious cultures, and took a cruise to enjoy the sunset over the Kunming Lake.

China and Italy both have ancient civilizations. The mutual attraction between them has become precious wealth for both sides and continues to this day.

Mattarella also said earlier that promoting the exploration of the potential of the cultural and creative industries of Italy and China could bring fruitful results to both sides.

Choosing the Summer Palace as the first stop of the Italian president's visit to China also shows Italy's willingness to deepen cooperation with China in cultural heritage protection.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership.

In July, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited China. In less than half a year, two important Italian politicians have visited China successively, highlighting the high level of development of China-Italy relations.

The two countries expect to take the opportunity to further expand practical cooperation and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

The Summer Palace is the largest and best-preserved imperial garden in China, and among the most noted classical gardens in the world. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998.

Italian president tours Summer Palace in Beijing

More than 100 representatives of the Chinese-Filipino community and descendants of war veterans gathered at Manila's Chinese Cemetery on Tuesday to pay tribute to overseas Chinese who fought against the Japanese occupation during World War II.

The memorial ceremony was also attended by Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian and other officials of the embassy.

Among the attendees was 96-year-old Mike Lu, or Lu Shuiya, a veteran of the Philippine Chinese Anti-Japanese Guerilla Force, known as Wha-Chi in the Philippines. Every year during the Qingming Festival which falls on April 4 this year, he would visit the cemetery to honor his fallen comrades.

"We will not forget, the people will not forget, the motherland will not forget," said Lu in a speech.

Another veteran, 102-year-old Wang Chenli, also participated in the ceremony.

Alongside Ambassador Huang and other dignitaries, the two elderly fighters laid wreaths and bowed in remembrance at the monument dedicated to the Chinese resistance fighters.

Following Japan's occupation of the Philippines in 1942, overseas Chinese in the country set up resistance groups such as the Philippine-Chinese Anti-Japanese Force and the Philippine-Chinese Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Forces, and latter is also known as Wha-Chi.

Wha-Chi played an impressive role in the fight against Japanese aggressors in over three years of the occupation.

The unit killed, wounded, and captured more than 2,000 enemy troops, at a cost of 77 casualties among its own ranks. After the war, the Chinese-Filipino community erected multiple memorials to commemorate these wartime heroes.

"Many people do not know that the Chinese minority in the Philippines was very fearless and very consistent in resisting Japanese militarism during World War II. We should not forget the war history in order to preserve and uphold peace," said Wilson Lee Flores, a well-known columnist in the Philippines.

Chinese WWII resistance fighters in Philippines commemorated