Taiwan's Premier Jiang Yi-huah on Tuesday survived a no-confidence vote launched by opposition lawmakers who accused the government of violating the constitution over attempts to expel the parliamentary speaker.

Forty five legislators voted in favor of the motion, well short of the 57 votes required to oust the premier, said speaker Wang Jin-pyng.

China's arms buildup over the last two decades would give it the power to invade Taiwan by 2020 even if allies came to the island's aid, a military report said Tuesday.

The mainland's annual military spending has grown on average by double-digit rates over the past 20 years or so, according to Taiwan's 2013 National Defense Report.

China said on Sunday it was open to a visit by Taiwan's top cross-strait official as it called for a political settlement to prevent their differences being handed down "from generation to generation".

Chinese President Xi Jinping met Vincent Siew, Taiwan's former vice president, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Indonesia. They shook hands and smiled for the cameras.

Severe Typhoon Usagi barreled towards Hong Kong on Sunday, shutting down one of the world's busiest sea ports and throwing flight schedules into disarray, after killing two people in the Philippines and unleashing landslides in Taiwan.

Usagi -- which means rabbit in Japanese -- packed winds of 165 kilometers (103 miles) per hour as it closed in on China's densely populated Pearl River Delta, forcing some residents in vulnerable areas to tape up windows and stock up on supplies.

Super Typhoon Usagi, the most powerful storm of the year, brought torrential rain and strong winds to the Philippines and Taiwan Saturday, uprooting trees and knocking out power as it barreled towards Hong Kong.

The typhoon battered the Batanes island group in the far north of the Philippines overnight with gusts of up to 250 kilometers (155 miles) per hour, affecting communication lines and damaging crops, officials said.

Taiwanese prosecutors are investigating allegations that three employees at leading smartphone maker HTC stole trade secrets to sell to Chinese firms, reports said Saturday.

Investigators Friday searched HTC's research and development centre as well as the suspects' offices and homes after the company accused them of stealing key interface technology, according to the Taipei-based China Times newspaper.

Twelve passengers were injured when their train was derailed by mudslides in southern Taiwan on Saturday after a tropical storm triggered widespread flooding.

The train, carrying around 250 passengers, was hit by the mudslides as it was approaching a tunnel in Pingtung county, the Taiwan Railway Administration said, adding that four carriages came off the tracks.

At least three people were killed when torrential rain brought by Tropical Storm Kong-Rey caused widespread flooding in the south of Taiwan, the government said Friday.

A 20-year-old man riding a motorcycle drowned after he fell into a gutter in southern Pingtung county while a 50-year-old woman was electrocuted in western Yunlin area, according to the National Fire Agency, which coordinates rescue efforts.

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou said Friday the island will continue to acquire arms from the United States, dismissing reports that the U.S. and China could discuss ending such sales.

Ma spoke after local and Chinese media Thursday quoted a Chinese defense official who said Washington had reacted positively when China's defence minister Chang Wanquan proposed setting up a joint working group to discuss arms sales to Taipei.

Tropical Storm Trami battered Taiwan with strong winds and torrential rains on Wednesday, forcing authorities to close offices and call off nearly 200 international flights.

The Central Weather Bureau said although the storm, 100 kilometers (62 miles) north-northeast of Taipei at 0930 GMT, was likely to miss the island, it would generate more heavy rainfall in the day ahead.