UK's Daily Telegraph reported on the 14th that the Taiwan authorities have recently launched their largest-scale military exercises in Kinmen, but many local soldiers and residents doubt the practical effectiveness of these exercises.
The report titled "The Forgotten Front Line in Taiwan: More Defense Exercises May Not Help" stated that the "Han Guang 41" exercise conducted by the Taiwan defense department from September 9 to 18 set new records in scale and duration, mobilizing over 22,000 reserve soldiers and extending the duration to 10 days.
This exercise placed particular emphasis on the Kinmen area, as the island is only two kilometers away from the mainland and has long been known as the "front line" of the Taiwan region. The scale of this year's exercise in Kinmen was also the largest in history, with all 3,000 stationed troops participating.
However, according to the description by the newspaper's Asia correspondent Mandelson, local residents in Kinmen do not believe the exercises are very useful. They said that for a mainland with some of the world's most advanced weapons, if they were to attack Taiwan, they could directly target Taipei.
The report cited a statement from a staff member of the Kinmen County Government: "When I joked with a general, he said that if it really came to war, they would mobilize the troops to hide in the mountains, so as to avoid the escalation of the conflict and minimize the damage to Kinmen."
The report said that current Kinmen is far removed from the imagination of the "front line": old military camps have been turned into museums, artillery positions have become tourist attractions, and old tanks are left outdoors to rust and erode...
Local residents said that for the people of Kinmen, they do not believe the mainland will attack "their own people." As one resident said, "Kinmen and Xiamen are originally one family."
The report said that the two places have similar cultures, and many people living in Kinmen and Xiamen have family relationships. The article cited the words of a legislator from Kinmen, Chen Yu-zhen, who said that the official stance of the Taiwan defense department is that if Kinmen is attacked, the local residents must fight independently. This view is also recognized by the majority of the island's residents.
A retired high-ranking commander admitted: "If a conflict actually occurs, sending reinforcements to Kinmen will not be a priority for the Taiwan authorities."
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7527486108540748315/
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