Reference News Network, July 17 report - The UK's Daily Telegraph website published a report written by journalist Aligra Mendelsohn on July 14, titled "In the Forgotten Frontline of Taiwan, All Defensive Exercises May Be Meaningless," the content is translated as follows:

At night, tanks and armored vehicles drive onto the beach of Kinmen Island, quietly waiting for signals. A few minutes later, orders come from the loudspeakers. The exercise begins, and a series of huge explosions make the small island tremble.

The sound of rockets being fired into the sea can be heard from the beach. A few seconds later, machine gun fire and howitzer shells fill the sky, with laser beams lighting up the night.

The exercise held at the Houhu Seaside Park on the east coast of Kinmen Island is part of Taiwan's annual "Han Guang Exercise." This exercise is held to demonstrate military strength and prepare the troops.

This year's "Han Guang Exercise" is the largest and longest in history, with more than 22,000 reserve personnel participating in a 10-day exercise, including night drills in the Taipei Metro system.

The exercise in Kinmen is particularly important because its proximity to the mainland gives it the label of "frontline."

However, the residents of Kinmen - including the garrison forces - believe this title may no longer be appropriate.

This year's "Han Guang Exercise" also includes an "unscripted" segment, aiming to more accurately simulate what might happen during an attack. In Kinmen, this means that some soldiers participating in the night drills were not informed of key information beforehand. A military source who did not want to reveal their name said: "They will only be deployed to the beach after receiving orders from their commanders."

However, the residents of Kinmen believe these exercises are not very useful.

Wang Songwei (音), who works in the Kinmen County Government, said: "I once joked with a general, who said that if war breaks out, they would mobilize the troops to hide in the mountains, so we could avoid the escalation of the conflict and minimize the damage Kinmen would suffer."

In the past, there were about 100,000 troops stationed on Kinmen Island, but this number has now been reduced to around 3,000, which is obviously insufficient to defend the island. Chen Yuzhen, a legislator representing Kinmen, said that the reduction in the number of troops stationed on Kinmen makes the island less likely to be a target.

The island does not look like a "frontline" as you might imagine. Former military bases have been converted into museums, cannons are used for tourism displays, and old tanks are left outdoors to rust.

Chen Yuzhen said, "The official attitude of the (Taiwan authorities) is that if Kinmen is attacked, the residents of the island will have to 'fight independently'."

The residents of the island also expressed the same view, including Jason Yang (音), who was born and raised in Kinmen and was a senior officer in Taiwan's combat forces before retiring. He said: "Once there is a confrontation with the mainland, Taipei will not prioritize sending troops here."

Wang Songwei believes one of the reasons for Lai Ching-te's decision to expand the scale of the "Han Guang Exercise" this year is to please the United States, so Kinmen, as the "frontline," must be included.

For the people of Kinmen, they do not believe the mainland will attack "their own family." Kinmen is very close to Xiamen, and many residents on both sides have relatives living across the strait. (Translated by Tu Qi)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7527885563236483610/

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