Protesters leave as Taiwan readies for year’s biggest typhoon

As Typhoon Soudelor approaches, surfers remove surf boards from the beach in Yilan County, northeastern Taiwan, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015. Soudelor is expected to bring heavy rains and strong winds to the island Friday with winds speeds over 170 km per hour (100 mph) and gusts over 200 km per hour (120 mph) according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)

TAIPEI, Taiwan–Students who have been camping outside Taiwan’s education ministry for almost a week to protest curriculum changes said Thursday they were packing up, as the country braced for the biggest typhoon of the year.

The students and supporters, who say the new curriculum favors China’s view of the island’s history, announced they were disbanding the camp for safety reasons as Typhoon Soudelor barreled closer.

“As the typhoon is closing in… for safety considerations, we have now decided to leave,” Chen Chien-hsiun, a student leader, told reporters.

Typhoon Soudelor, packing maximum wind gusts of up to 209 kilometers (130 miles) per hour, was 710 kilometres southeast of eastern Hualien county as of 9 p.m. local time (1300 GMT).

Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau predicted the storm would make landfall sometime between late Friday and early Saturday. It has already forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 people from outlying islands popular with tourists.

The protesters had previously pledged to stay despite the typhoon, with one student insisting that “winds and rains cannot stop us, we’ll stay on until our appeal is accepted.”

But Chen said they had already “obtained victory at this stage,” referring to a government promise to review the controversial curriculum changes and allow schools the option of using old textbooks.

Soudelor is currently categorised as a moderate storm by Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau, although other observatories in the region class it as a severe typhoon.

Around 2,600 people, including tourists and residents, have been evacuated from Green Island and Orchid Island off the coast of the eastern county of Taitung, according to the tourism office.

Ferry services to the outlying islands were suspended Thursday.

“It’s (currently) posing a threat to the sea off the eastern half of Taiwan and the Bashi Channel,” said the weather bureau, adding that “the chance of the typhoon strengthening later is still expected”.

Taiwan celebrates Father’s Day on August 8 and the inclement weather is expected to disrupt many families’ plans.

The government warned all departments to take precautionary measures ahead of Soudelor’s landing, including preparing for floods, landslides and fallen trees.

“Although it won’t have the same effect of Typhoon Morakot, this typhoon is still very well developed,” Premier Mao Chi-kuo said, referring to the storm that killed some 600 people in 2009, most buried in huge landslides.

“It must not be taken lightly,” he added in a statement.

Around 32,000 soldiers were on standby for disaster relief, the ministry of national defense said.