Typhoon Noul lashes southern China with strong winds, heavy rains

Typhoon Noul made landfall early Sunday in Huizhou City of south China's Guangdong Province, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to the region and neighboring Fujian Province.

The 12th typhoon of the year hit Huidong County head on, packing maximum winds near its center reaching Force 14 on the Beaufort scale upon its landfall at about 03:50, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said.

Affected by the storm, Huidong County began to experience intense winds and pouring rain from midnight. At a port resort, some trees, lampposts, billboards and basketball stands were seen lying on the ground littered up by tree leaves.

To brace for the powerful typhoon, Huidong activated its highest-level emergency response at 09:00 on Saturday, suspending classes, work, production, transportation, and business, and relocating over 70,000 people and establishing more than 300 emergency shelters.

Huilai County in neighboring Jieyang City were also lashed by intense gusts that uprooted large trees along several major thoroughfares, disrupting traffic. Municipal maintenance teams and local fire rescue personnel have been working side by side to clear the fallen trees and restore road access.

At around 04:00 Sunday, a solar power station in Zhangzhou City of east China's Fujian Province recorded sustained wind speeds of 36 kilometers per hour, with instantaneous gusts peaking at over 57 kilometers per hour.

Surveillance footage showed fierce gale-force winds driving torrential rain sideways across the facility. Dense raindrops lashed continuously against outdoor equipment, while thick sheets of water vapor shrouded the entire area in a heavy mist.

The Hong Kong Observatory issued the No. 8 Storm Signal on Saturday night under the effect of super Typhoon Noul and updated it to No. 9 early Sunday, indicating the wind force is increasing or may increase significantly.

The No. 8 signal is the third-highest warning under Hong Kong's weather system, which has five rankings for typhoons.

The observatory warned that winds with sustained speeds of 63 km per hour or more are expected. People have been urged to take precautions, stay away from the shoreline and avoid water sports.

Due to the storm, Hong Kong's education authorities announced the closure of all schools. Most public buses have been ordered to maintain limited service, gradually suspending operations into the night. The Hong Kong MTR will maintain its normal weekend service until the end of evening service.

The Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau forecasts that after Typhoon Noul makes landfall, wind speeds will persist at Force 6 to 7 in the city as there is no topographic barrier to weaken the system. Heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected on Sunday.

Passenger ferry services between Macao and Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong were suspended on Saturday. Meanwhile, Macao International Airport said that a total of 49 flights scheduled for Saturday and Sunday have been canceled as of 21:00 on Saturday, with multiple other flights experiencing delays.

Typhoon Noul lashes southern China with strong winds, heavy rains

China appreciates Papua New Guinea (PNG)'s decision to close the Taipei economic office in the country, which once again demonstrates that adhering to the one-China principle is the will of the PNG government and people as well as an irresistible trend of the international community, said Chinese Ambassador to Papua New Guinea Yang Xiaoguang.

On July 15, Papua New Guinea's Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko announced the closure of the Taipei economic office in Port Moresby, the country's capital. His statement also indicated that the decision was made in accordance with a resolution of the National Executive Council.

"The decision made by the government of Papua New Guinea, which conforms to the historical trend, fully manifests the positive will and friendly sentiment of the PNG government and its people toward advancing relations with China, and serves as a model for other countries in handling the issue of Taipei representative offices. As PNG Foreign Minister Tkatchenko put it, the decision reflects a firm commitment to developing ties with China and a steadfast adherence to the one-China principle, which is a unanimous decision made by the PNG's top leadership," said Yang.

Yang also noted that over the 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China-Papua New Guinea cooperation has yielded fruitful results. While applauding the PNG government's latest move, he expected the two countries to further strengthen bilateral ties and deepen cooperation in all fields.

"This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Papua New Guinea. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of head-of-state diplomacy, our comprehensive strategic partnership has continued to mature and deepen. Bilateral cooperation in such areas as trade and economy, infrastructure, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, energy and mining, education, and public health has produced notable achievements, delivering concrete benefits to both countries and peoples. The decision by the Papua New Guinean government to close the 'Taipei economic office' in the country is a correct, just, and exemplary one. It will help cement the political foundation for the further growth of bilateral ties and cooperation across the board, and open up broad prospects for the China-Papua New Guinea relationship to scale new heights and expand into wider dimensions," said Yang.

PNG's closure of Taipei office underscores one-China principle as irresistible historical trend: ambassador