Most of Hong Kong and other parts of southern China yesterday ground to a near standstill, with classes and flights canceled as powerful Typhoon Saola approached.
Many workers stayed at home and students in various cities saw the start of their school year postponed to next week. Trading on Hong Kong’s stock market was suspended and hundreds of people were stranded at the airport after about 460 flights were canceled in the key regional business and travel hub.
Rail authorities in mainland China suspened all trains entering or leaving Guangdong Province from last night to tonight, China Central Television reported.
Photo: Reuters
The Hong Kong Observatory issued a No. 9 storm signal, the second-highest warning under the territory’s weather system.
It said Saola — with maximum sustained winds of 210kph — would be closest to the territory at about midnight, about 40km south of the Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district.
The eyewall of Saola was moving across the territory at about 8pm, bringing torrential rain to the territory, it said.
The alert might be upgraded to a No. 10 signal if the winds strengthened further, observatory Director Chan Pak-wai (陳?緯) said.
A No. 10 hurricane warning was last issued when Super Typhoon Mangkhut hit Hong Kong in 2018.
Chan said he expected winds to gradually weaken today, as the typhoon moves away from Hong Kong.
The observatory warned of serious flooding in coastal areas and said the maximum water level might be similar to when Mangkhut felled trees and tore scaffolding off buildings in the territory.
Weather authorities in the nearby gambling hub of Macau also warned of flooding, forecasting that water levels might reach 1.5m in low-lying areas this morning.
The cross-border bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai City was closed at mid-afternoon yesterday.
In the technology and finance hub of Shenzhen, the emergency management bureau ordered a suspension of work, businesses and public transport, with the typhoon expected to hit the city or nearby areas last night.
Use of highways in the city was banned except for rescue crews.
China’s National Meteorological Center said that Saola could make landfall from Huidong County to Taishan City in Guangdong Province, which neighbors Hong Kong, between last night and this morning.
It said the storm could also move west near central Guangdong.
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that China has “no right to represent Taiwan,” but stressed that the nation was willing to work with Beijing on issues of mutual interest. “The Republic of China has already put down roots in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu,” Lai said in his first Double Ten National Day address outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei. “And the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China [PRC] are not subordinate to each other.” “The People’s Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan,” he said at the event marking the 113th National Day of
SPEECH IMPEDIMENT? The state department said that using routine celebrations or public remarks as a pretext for provocation would undermine peace and stability Beijing’s expected use of President William Lai’s (賴清德) Double Ten National Day speech today as a pretext for provocative measures would undermine peace and stability, the US Department of State said on Tuesday. Taiwanese officials have said that China is likely to launch military drills near Taiwan in response to Lai’s speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims. A state department spokesperson said it could not speculate on what China would or would not do. “However, it is worth emphasizing that using routine annual celebrations or public remarks as a pretext or excuse for provocative or coercive
CONCERNS: Allowing the government, political parties or the military to own up to 10 percent of a large media firm is a risk Taiwan cannot afford to take, a lawyer said A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator has proposed amendments to allow the government, political parties and the military to indirectly invest in broadcast media, prompting concerns of potential political interference. Under Article 1 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), the government and political parties — as well as foundations established with their endowments, and those commissioned by them — cannot directly or indirectly invest in satellite broadcasting businesses. A similar regulation is in the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法). “The purpose of banning the government, political parties and the military from investing in the media is to prevent them from interfering
RSS