Typhoon Fung-wong to make landfall or pass close to Taiwan

China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) on Wednesday downgraded its warning for Super Typhoon Fung-wong to blue, forecasting that the storm will make landfall or pass close to Taiwan region around Wednesday evening.

Fung-wong, the 26th typhoon of the year, has already wreaked havoc in the Philippines, causing casualties and displacing around 1.4 million people nationwide.

At 16:00 on Wednesday, the storm was located about 75 kilometers west of Taiwan's Eluanbi, moving northeastward at a speed of 15-20 kilometers per hour with little change in intensity.

According to the NMC, forecasts for Wednesday and Thursday predict the Taiwan Strait and the coastal areas of east China's Zhejiang Province and Fujian Province will experience strong winds ranging between force 6 and force 8, with gusts of force 9 to 11.

Torrential rain began to batter northern and eastern Taiwan on Tuesday, with Yilan County and New Taipei City seeing extremely heavy rain.

In Taiwan, "torrential rain" refers to continuous rainfall with a daily accumulation of at least 130 millimeters.

Meteorologists say the combined influence of cold air and the outer edge of Fung-wong will bring winds exceeding force 9 to 10 to the coastal waters of Wenzhou City in east China's Zhejiang Province, over the next few days.

By 10:00 Wednesday, all 391 fishing boats in Cangnan County had returned to port to seek shelter from the storm.

To ensure maritime safety, the Fujian Maritime Safety Administration has maintained a Level II emergency response for typhoon prevention.

By 13:00 on Wednesday, 69 ferry routes along the Fujian coast had been suspended, and 124 water-based engineering projects had been halted.

Typhoon Fung-wong to make landfall or pass close to Taiwan

Senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official Li Shulei attended a reception celebrating the Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) held by the embassy of the DPRK in China, in Beijing on Tuesday.

Li, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, extended warm congratulations on the successful convening of the Ninth Congress of the WPK on behalf of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the CPC Central Committee.

Li said that China is willing to work with the DPRK to implement the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties, strengthen strategic communication, deepen practical cooperation, enhance the well-being and friendship of the two peoples, and make due contributions to regional peace, stability, development and prosperity.

DPRK Ambassador to China Ri Ryong Nam said the DPRK side is willing to work with the Chinese side to follow the will of the top leaders of the two parties, and strengthen unity and cooperation in the process of advancing the socialist cause.

Senior CPC official attends reception celebrating Ninth Congress of WPK