Taiwan: Han Kuang military exercises in the face of the Chinese threat

On this August evening, the villages and beaches of the Taiwanese island of Kinmen are plunged into a heavy and stormy atmosphere. From the shore of Houhu, we can only see the lights of the fishing boats. Suddenly, the sound of a cannon tears the silence. Three bursts of light appear in the inky black sky, and slowly fade into the horizon. This is the signal: from the four corners of the beach, the cries of soldiers resonate. The first artillery pieces roar.

That evening, the Taiwanese soldiers trained with live ammunition against a possible Chinese landing. “Once the scout cannon fire is finished, our heavy artillery begins firing. As soon as one piece has finished firing, we move on to the next,” explains a sergeant stationed in Kinmen, an island in the Taiwanese archipelago located a few kilometers from China.

For ten days, the annual “Han Kuang” exercises, which ended on August 13 after taking place across…