Chapter 10Black Rain

Hong Kong Island is situated in a well-worn typhoon path on the southern tip of China's eastern coast. The period between July and September is the peak season for these massive storms, which draw energy from the warm Pacific Ocean and move northwest toward the Asian landmass. The city has grown accustomed to these typhoons, though, and literally pulls down its shutters and battens the doors when one approaches.

As luck would have it, a typhoon was bearing down on Hong Kong on Sunday, August 22, the day before Ambassador Hyun's scheduled visit. The Hong Kong Observatory, the official government weather service, measures typhoons on a scale of intensity: 1, 3, 8, 9, and 10, with 10 being the strongest. The number 3 signal was hoisted that morning. Dark clouds were gathering, and the wind was strong. I hurried to go out on my daily 10-kilometer run before it was too late. A major storm hit almost as soon as I got back home. By then, the number 8 typhoon signal had been raised. I felt lucky to have missed the worst of the storm, but I was worried that if the weather did not let up soon, Ambassador Hyun might not make it to Hong Kong the next day.

The weather wreaked worse havoc than I imagined. Typhoon Sam, as it was called, brought torrents of rain bucketing down on the city along with high winds that ripped branches from trees. At Hong Kong's new Chek Lap Kok airport, a China Airlines (Taiwan's flagship airline) jet flipped over while attempting to land ...

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