Taiwan expresses sympathy to China over Typhoon Yagi's devastation

Taipei, Sept. 8 (CNA) Taiwanese government and semi-official agencies expressed concern and sympathy on Sunday for deaths and damage caused by Typhoon Yagi in China in recent days.

The Mainland Affairs Council, Taiwan's top government agency handling cross-strait affairs, and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) both issued statements expressing concern for the Chinese people and hoping for a swift return to normality in the disaster-stricken areas.

The SEF is a semi-official organization tasked by Taiwan's government with handling technical matters involving China.

Both agencies said they are also working to assess the impact on Taiwanese businesses in China and working with various Taiwanese business associations to reach out to Taiwanese in need.

According to Chinese state media outlet Central China Television (CCTV), the storm had caused four deaths and 95 injuries in China's island province of Hainan as of 3 p.m. on Saturday.

At least 1.22 million people across Hainan, Guangdong and Guangxi provinces also have been affected by Typhoon Yagi, which caused widespread power and communication outages and led some buildings to collapse in China's southeastern coastal region, according to Chinese state media outlet Xinhua.