Purges in China’s military allow Taiwan some respite – for now
Al Jazeera
Turmoil in China’s senior ranks raises questions about morale and whether the chaos reduces the threat to Taiwan.
Danny Jia was walking down a street outside Taiwan’s Taoyuan city in late December when he suddenly heard automatic gunfire.
Not far from Jia’s location that morning, the 249th mechanised infantry brigade of the Taiwanese armed forces was conducting military drills at Guanyin beach on the island’s northwest coast.
“I was so startled that I almost dropped my phone,” the 46-year-old civil servant told Al Jazeera.
“The exercises are also a scary reminder that a war might actually come to Taiwan in the future,” Jia said.
Guanyin beach is one of Taiwan’s so-called “red beaches” – stretches of the coastline that in the event of a Chinese invasion, offer the most favourable conditions for amphibious landing assaults.
