Hello everyone, welcome to “News Perspectives,” I’m Li Xin.
Today’s focus: Terrifying! Super Typhoon “Mojie” Passes Through Hainan, Residents Claim High-rise Buildings Shaking! Intensified Infighting in the CCP, All Secretaries of Li Keqiang’s Era Replaced, Relative of Rocket Force General Li Jun Reported!
Let’s first pay attention to the typhoon disaster situation in mainland China. Super Typhoon “Mojie” made landfall in Wenchang, Hainan Province, on September 6th, sweeping through Guangdong and Vietnam, causing severe damage in different regions. According to China Central Television news, as of 3 pm on September 7th, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan had a total of 1.227 million people affected by “Mojie” to varying degrees.
Hainan was the first area in China where “Mojie” made landfall. When the typhoon landed in Wengtian Town, Wenchang City, the maximum wind speed exceeded level 17. As of 3 pm on September 7th, there were four deaths and 95 injuries in Hainan, with 526,100 people affected in 19 cities and counties. Essential infrastructure such as water, electricity, gas, and roads suffered severe damage. Over 1.21 million households in Hainan Province were still without power; in terms of communication, all 17,000 base stations in the province were out of service. The implementation of “Five Stops and One Close,” which includes stopping classes, work, transport, flights, business operations, and closing tourist attractions.
Official estimates project that the direct economic losses in Wenchang, Hainan, from this disaster amount to 32.7 billion RMB, equivalent to 86% of the city’s annual GDP. Due to significant damage to critical infrastructure, agriculture, the service industry, and other sectors, the losses caused by this typhoon far exceed that of the super typhoon “Weimason” that made landfall in the same location a decade ago.
Preliminary statistics show that at least 25,000 houses in the entire city of Wenchang were damaged, with nearly one-third of the roads blocked by fallen trees. The forestry sector also suffered significant losses, with approximately 48,100 hectares, accounting for 46% of forested areas, damaged. The affected agricultural areas in Wenchang covered approximately 270,000 mu, with about 160,000 mu facing complete crop failure.
The typhoon disaster has led to other social issues. Prior to this, the local market supervision department in Hainan had issued two notices prohibiting price hikes due to the disaster. However, some stores were still significantly raising prices, particularly for power banks. The prices of power banks, which usually cost less than 100 RMB, were raised to over 200 RMB, with some high-power models reaching 870 RMB.
Many people recorded videos where the scenes showed the railing by the beach being blown away, pedestrians lying on the ground behind flower beds to shield themselves from the wind. Many areas experienced water and power outages, including hotels. Electric car sheds on the side of buildings had their roofs blown off, with electric cars scattered on the ground. Heavy air conditioning units on the balconies of many high-rise buildings were blown down to the ground by the typhoon, and scattered all over. The window glass frames of many high-rise residents were blown away, causing chaos inside the homes. People living in high-rises dared not stay indoors as the entire building shook. A man recorded a video describing staying in a high-rise feeling like experiencing an 8-magnitude earthquake.
The second landfall location of “Mojie” was in Xuwenzhen, Guangdong. Xuwenzhen is known as the banana capital of China, with the banana cultivation industry being a pillar industry in the area. However, the typhoon caused severe damage to the local banana trees, with witnesses stating that most of them were blown down as far as the eye could see.
As of the afternoon of September 7th, traffic in Xuwenzhen Harbor had not been restored. Xuwenzhen Harbor serves as a pivotal waterway from mainland China to Hainan, resulting in almost 3,000 drivers stranded in Xuwenzhen. Local authorities provided temporary accommodation for them in facilities such as schools.
Haitou City also suffered severe damage. Official reports stated that most roads in Haitou City were blocked, extensive tree falls occurred, and basic infrastructures such as electricity and water supply were severely damaged. Currently, all four water plants in the city have restored power, with nearly two-thirds of residential areas gradually regaining water supply. Haidou Xin Hai Port, Xiuying Port, and the South Railway Port are still not operating, with the specific resumption time to be announced later.
Netizens in Haitou said: “Everything is gone, our crops and houses are gone.” “People in Hainan are really pitiful now, many roads are blocked, all cars parked at the roadside have broken windows, houses are without water and electricity.” “A day without power, water, and internet signal, fallen trees everywhere outside, tin sheets and metal plates, broken glass everywhere, cars toppled and wrecked, and waterlogging in the village.”
Another significant point to consider is the serious challenge posed to the safety of urban buildings by the typhoon. In the onslaught of “Mojie,” the glass of high-rise buildings in Haikou, Wenchang, and other areas of Hainan suffered severe damage. The glass in many residential complexes facing the wind was shattered, and in some cases, furniture was blown out of windows. Some building windows were torn, and in some cases, entire outer walls were stripped off. In 2014, once the super typhoon “Weimason” passed through with almost the same intensity and path, high-rise residential buildings in many places in Hainan experienced similar widespread glass window and balcony damage. Local media at the time, the Southern Metropolis Daily, called for the implementation of “Hainan Local Standards for Exterior Door and Window Construction” due to the frequent typhoons in Hainan, emphasizing the importance of scrutinizing the materials and construction quality of window frames and glass.
After the sweep of “Weimason,” the typhoon’s strength was described in reports at the time as a “once-in-a-century” or “once-in-several-decades” event. However, just a decade later, a similar intensity typhoon, “Mojie,” duplicated the destruction along almost the same path as “Weimason.”
Ancient beliefs hold that disasters are warnings from heaven. In recent years, under the rule of the CCP in China, it seems one disaster after another strikes, from scorching heatwaves to devastating floods, landslides, rare heavy rains, and once-in-several-decade typhoons. These continuous calamities and anomalies appear to be a warning sign from above to the Chinese people. “When governance fails, celestial signs are observed; when evil politics prevail, insect disasters arise from the earth.” Ancients spoke of the resonance between heaven and man; when things are prosperous and stable, it’s seen as a commendation from heaven to rulers; conversely, it’s a warning sign from heaven when calamities occur. The various disasters happening in China today could be seen as celestial warnings to the ruling authorities. Unfortunately, instead of reflecting and changing their ways, the CCP authorities continue their misguided actions, leading to a potentially irreversible path.
Recently, The Economist, a reputable and serious media outlet, published an article mentioning a major issue facing the Chinese economy: strict control of information, highly centralized political control, and a governance culture built on “fear.” Confronted with a fragile economy, to avoid embarrassing the leadership, official data provided by the CCP can be intentionally distorted. The article suggests that while the CCP has attempted to avoid repeating the mistakes that led to the Soviet Union’s collapse, the reality is that China could face a similar fate.