Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (left) wears a bulletproof vest and helmet as he walks in a tunnel to a command center in Taipei, as part of the annual Han Kuang military exercise on Wednesday. | Presidential Office of Taiwan / via AFP-JIJI
REUTERS
Aug 6, 2026
TAIPEI – Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te made a late-night dash in the back of an armored personnel carrier to a command center as part of annual war games designed to show how the government would continue to work in the event of a war.
Taiwan kicked off the Han Kuang exercises on Wednesday. Lasting 10 days, the drills are designed to bolster preparations should China, which views the democratically governed island as its own territory, ever make good on its vow to take Taiwan by force if necessary.
The presidential office said on Thursday that Lai and a group of senior officials had been taken the previous night to a command center, and showed images of him wearing body armor and a helmet getting into the back of an armored personnel carrier.
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