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Taiwan leader rehearses late-night evacuation in major drill

The exercise included a continuity-of-government test of command links and inter-agency coordination during emergencies.

Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te rehearsed a late-night emergency evacuation during the island’s largest annual military exercise, as concerns have grown about potential People’s Liberation Army “decapitation” strikes, local media reported Thursday.

According to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, Lai was transported under cover of darkness from his Presidential Office to a secure command centre in a Clouded Leopard armoured vehicle under the long-standing “Wan Jun” contingency plan.

Karen Kuo, a spokeswoman for Lai’s office, said the drill focused on testing the administration’s command structure, inter-agency coordination, and emergency response mechanisms so the government could continue operating during a crisis.

The People’s Liberation Army has trained for a “beheading” operation in Taiwan for years, and its Zhurihe training base in Inner Mongolia has featured a full-scale mock-up of Taipei’s Presidential Office Building since at least 2014, the report said.

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