Typhoon Matmo, the 21st named storm of the 2025 Pacific typhoon season, has led to highest-level emergency responses and large-scale evacuations in south China's coastal provincial-level regions including Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi.
The provincial flood control headquarters of Guangdong upgraded its typhoon emergency response to the highest level on Sunday morning. A total of 271,500 residents had been evacuated.
The island province of Hainan had relocated over 197,000 people from high-risk areas as of Sunday noon.
In Hainan's capital city of Haikou, classes, public transportation, park and business operations have been suspended for at least one day. The Haikou Meilan International Airport has canceled all flights.
All coastal passenger ferry routes have been suspended in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Approximately 26,000 tourists on its Weizhou Island were evacuated, with no one stranded. Coastal projects and ports have halted operations, and 4,024 personnel from ships and oil platforms have also been evacuated to safety.
The Guangxi maritime authority activated the top-level emergency response on Sunday morning, and has organized more than 20,000 fishing boats to return to ports and secured 889 other ships in ports.
Matmo made landfall along the eastern coast of Xuwen County, Zhanjiang City in south China's Guangdong Province around 14:50 on Sunday, according to Guangdong's meteorological service.
The typhoon made landfall with maximum wind force near its center reaching 42 meters per second and a central minimum pressure of 965 hectopascals.
Typhoon Matmo prompts mass evacuations in south China
A former television host from Taiwan, Zhai Xuan, has made a pivotal decision to leave mainstream broadcasting in order to create content that provides a better understanding of the Chinese mainland and cross-strait relations.
Zhai, a seasoned television host with over a decade of experience in Taiwan's media landscape, recently addressed an audience at an event in Beijing, where she revealed her complete transition into independent online media.
In her remarks, she articulated her aspiration to bridge what she perceives as a significant information gap between audiences on both sides of the Strait, highlighting her commitment to fostering a deeper understanding and connection through her new endeavors.
"I was really surprised by all the fake news. There were stories saying people on the mainland can't afford tea eggs or that they live in mud houses and in Taiwan, this was the main information many people received," said Zhai.
Zhai said she initially began producing online videos to challenge such perceptions while continuing her work as a television host.
In April 2025, she travelled to the mainland with her father to fulfill her late grandfather's wish to return to his hometown. The trip, which reunited family members separated since 1949, was recorded in a video series titled "Journey to Find Our Roots", drawing attention from viewers in both Taiwan and the mainland.
"Many people in Taiwan told me that after watching, they wanted to apply for a mainland travel permit immediately and go looking for their relatives. Some had long forgotten these things, but after seeing my story, they began thinking about their hometowns and family members they had never met and decided to search for their roots," Zhai shared her story at the event.
By mid-2025, Zhai said she began to feel increasing pressure amid rising political tensions and a tightening atmosphere around cross-Strait exchanges in Taiwan.
After more than 12 years in the industry, Zhai resigned from her position, believing it was the right thing to do.
"At that moment, I felt this was a major issue，not just for me, but for Chinese people on both sides of the Strait. If I backed down then, I wouldn’t be standing on the right side," said Zhai.
Since leaving television, Zhai has broadened her online programming to encompass a range of daily-life topics, including practical guidance on applying for a mainland travel permit and using commonly employed mobile applications, in addition to content that delves into historical memory and cultural connections across the Strait.
As the debate over cross-Strait relations continues in Taiwan, Zhai said she remains committed to her current path.
Former Taiwan TV host bridges cross-Strait divide via online media
