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Hostage, bomb threat drill held at Taipei Main Station

ROC Central News Agency

07/26/2023 03:34 PM

Taipei, July 26 (CNA) Taiwan's military and civilian police joined forces early Wednesday for a hostage crisis and bomb threat drill in Taiwan's busiest transportation hub, as part of the ongoing live-fire part of the Han Kuang military exercises.

The drill, held on Wednesday morning around 2 a.m. in one section of Taipei Main Station, involved a mock hostage taking of civilians by hostile forces.

After being informed about the situation by metro police, military police from the nearby 211th battalion under the 202nd Military Police Command, along with officers from the Taipei Police Department, arrived at the scene.

After eliminating the abductors, the police then discovered a mock explosive device and a dispatched a bomb squad to detonate it.

During the drill, which was open to the media, a CNA reporter identified two foreign nationals at the scene, who were engaging in conversations with the police at the conclusion of the exercises.

The Ministry of National Defense did not disclose the identities of the two men, but local media speculated that they could be part of a United States observer delegation that visits Taiwan annually during the drills to share advice on defense issues.

Meanwhile, before the Taipei Main drill, the 202nd Military Police Command held a round of exercises involving the blockading of a bridge around midnight, which simulated the prevention of enemy forces advancing into Taipei City from nearby New Taipei City.

Working together with Taipei Wanhua District police forces and civilian defense units, military police used roadblocks to set up spot-check sites at Wanban Bridge -- that connects New Taipei's Banqiao District with Taipei's Wanhua District -- to stop enemy forces traveling into Wanhua, which is only ten minutes away from the Presidential Office Building and Taipei Main Station, as well as other key political and economic infrastructure.

Taiwan's military police is a separate branch of its armed forces, unlike its counterparts in most other countries.

Aside from serving as a law enforcement agency for the military, Taiwan's military police is also responsible for protecting government leaders from assassination or capture, guarding Taiwan's strategic facilities, and for engaging in counterintelligence against enemy infiltrators, spies, and saboteurs.

The live-fire component of this year's Han Kuang military exercises kicked off early Monday.

The annual drills, which have served as Taiwan's major war games since 1984, consist of live-fire drills and computerized war games and are meant to test Taiwan's combat readiness in the face of a possible Chinese invasion.

This year's tabletop exercises were staged in May.

(By Matt Yu, Wu Sheng-hung and Joseph Yeh)

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