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【Text/Observer.com Wang Shichun】According to Taiwan media reports, the five-day "Han Guang 40" live-fire exercise kicked off on Monday, July 22, starting five days and four nights of live-fire verification subjects. As the first "Han Guang" series of exercises led by Taiwan's new defense chief Gu Lixiong, this year's "Han Guang" exercise has many variations, not only requiring the exercise units to "not follow the script" and "make up questions on the spot", but also canceling the live-fire confrontation subjects for the attacking army.

Despite the many new tricks, the Taiwan military units still encountered many problems during the "combat power preservation" phase of the "Han Guang" exercise on the first day. First, the Taiwan military's "Clouded Leopard" series of armored vehicles had a series of accidents. Among them, a "Clouded Leopard" wheeled infantry fighting vehicle of the 333rd Brigade of the Fourth Operation Zone of the Taiwan military was suspected to have an engine failure and stopped in front of a residential house for emergency repairs. Soldiers were forced to get off the vehicle and stand guard with guns. In addition, a small passenger car collided with a Taiwan military "Clouded Leopard" tank of the 269th Brigade of the Mechanized Infantry in Bali District, New Taipei City, but fortunately no one was injured or killed.

In addition to traffic accidents, the Taiwan military's other exercises have also sparked criticism. The Taiwan military dug large-scale defensive fortifications in advance at Xishu Beach in Anping, Tainan, which immediately aroused doubts from the outside world that "the medicine is the same as the soup"; after the news came out, the relevant trenches and other facilities were immediately filled by the Taiwan military, which again aroused doubts. In addition, a video of "people fishing by the river and Taiwan military officers and soldiers in the same frame" was circulated on social media, which was criticized by a retired general of the Taiwan military as "terrible and embarrassing."

In addition to "man-made disasters", "natural disasters" also interfered with the "Han Kuang" military exercise. The "Kemi" in China and Taiwan approached Taiwan, causing the cancellation of many subjects of the Taiwan military's "Han Kuang Exercise". Taiwan authorities' defense department spokesman Sun Lifang said today (23) that the exercise subjects will be adjusted in succession according to the different sea and air conditions in various places, and troops must be deployed appropriately for disaster relief. As for whether the cancelled subjects will be re-enacted in the future, the typhoon is also part of the actual combat simulation in this live-fire exercise.

The driver of the white passenger car was a 38-year-old woman named Lin. She was driving from Longmi Road to Wugu and collided with the Taiwan military's "Clouded Leopard" infantry fighting vehicle. Because it was dark at the time, the driver of the vehicle did not notice the car next to him and accidentally hit the passenger car when he dodged to the left. The right door and fender of the passenger car were damaged, but the "Clouded Leopard" infantry fighting vehicle was fine. After receiving the report, the Luzhou Police Station in New Taipei City arrived at the scene to divert traffic. Both drivers were not under the influence of alcohol. The detailed cause of the accident is yet to be determined.

In response, the Taiwan Army's Sixth Army Corps said that an eight-wheeled armored vehicle under its 269th Brigade collided with a civilian car on Longmi Road in Bali District, New Taipei City, while performing a maneuvering exercise last night. No one was injured. The case is currently under investigation by the police, and related matters will be handled in accordance with military vehicle insurance regulations.

In addition to crashes, there were also breakdowns. According to Taiwan media "United Daily News", the Taiwan military's "4th Combat Zone Mechanized Infantry Brigade 333" received an order on the morning of the 22nd to dispatch multiple armored vehicles to tactical positions on standby. Embarrassingly, an "Clouded Leopard" eight-wheeled armored vehicle in the convoy was suspected to have an engine failure and stopped in front of a residential building for emergency repairs. There were also soldiers with guns on guard in the back. In response, the Taiwan military said that the "Han Guang Exercise" was envisioned to encounter various emergencies, including a complete SOP (standard operating procedure) for dealing with vehicle failures, and the Taiwan military also had relevant training and support.

In addition to traffic accidents, although this exercise emphasized "no script" and "close to actual combat", there were still some ridiculous exercise contents that triggered criticism on the island.

The Taiwan military said that this year, it will not tell soldiers the time, subjects, and actions of the drills, "there will be no spoilers." All subjects will not be rehearsed in advance. Although the units under test know the defense combat subjects that must be carried out on a certain day, the specific time, detailed route and other information will not be known until the superiors release it. However, some sharp-eyed people have discovered that participating troops from various places have been rehearsing various subjects, trying to "predict the topic", which has caused the outside world to question whether the so-called "no script" has broken its effect.

On the eve of the "Han Kuang" military exercise, the Taiwan military dug large-scale defensive fortifications in advance at Xishu Beach in Anping, Tainan, which immediately aroused doubts from the outside world that it was "changing the soup but not the medicine". After the news came out, the relevant trenches and other facilities were immediately filled in by the Taiwan military, which again aroused doubts.

In addition, a video of "people fishing by the river and Taiwanese soldiers in the same frame" was circulated on social media, which was criticized by a retired Taiwanese general as "terrible and embarrassing". A video circulated on social media on the 21st showed that people in Tainan were surrounded by many soldiers while fishing. It was later discovered that they were "summoned" by Taiwanese soldiers for training courses. In response, retired Taiwanese Major General Li Zhengjie held a screenshot of the video on a local program and blasted that these soldiers "held their guns completely wrong" and "Do you know how bad and embarrassing it is just looking at this photo?"

Huang Junmin, a retired general and military writer from the Taiwan military, also wrote an article to angrily criticize that a whole row of soldiers squatted on the shore, and the officers accompanying the team didn't find it funny? "It doesn't look like they are fighting, but more like they are here to get food."

In response, Taiwanese media sarcastically said, "Is this a true change of heart, or is it just another excuse for 'actual combat'? Which exercise of the Taiwan military has not been declared 'actual combat'?"

Of course, these "mistakes" are minor matters after all. The biggest problem of this "Han Guang" live-fire exercise comes from natural disasters. According to convention, the next "Han Guang" exercise will include joint anti-special attack and anti-assault exercises in various places, joint air defense combat training called "Lianxiang Exercise", and "Joint Anti-Landing" exercises held on the western beaches of Taiwan. But it is clear that Typhoon "Kemi" will affect the Taiwan military's subsequent exercises.

The medium-sized typhoon "Kemi" is currently heading northward. According to the latest forecast, "Kemi" may land in the northeast corner of Taiwan and Keelung in the future. According to the analysis of the weather risk company on the island, the probability of "Kemi" hitting Taiwan directly continues to increase. According to the current forecast path, on Thursday (25th), the whole of Taiwan will be purple, with strong winds and heavy rains in Greater Taipei, the western half of the country, and the central and southern mountainous areas, and disastrous rainfall may occur.

As Typhoon Kemi approaches Taiwan, many subjects of the Taiwan military's "Han Kuang Exercise" have been cancelled. Taiwan's Defense Department spokesman Sun Lifang said today (23) that the exercise subjects will be adjusted in due course depending on the different sea and air conditions in various places, and that troops must be deployed appropriately for disaster relief. He also emphasized that "maximizing the closeness to actual combat" does not mean actual combat, and risk management is something the military must take into account.

If the "Han Kuang Exercise" is cancelled, will it be held at a later date? Sun Lifang said that the most important feature of this "Han Kuang Exercise" is that it is real soldiers, real time, and real places. In other words, it is close to actual combat to practice all possible situations, which gives officers and soldiers an opportunity to train, including weather conditions.

The Ministry of National Defense has responded many times to Taiwan's annual "Han Kuang" series of exercises. On June 27, Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, said that the Democratic Progressive Party authorities staged the so-called "Han Kuang" exercises every year, but it was all a show and could not change the inevitable demise of "Taiwan independence."

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