Taipei, May 17 (EFE).- The Taiwan Armed Forces on Friday carried out a second round of aerial rehearsals prior to the inauguration of president-elect and current vice president William Lai (Lai Ching-te) on May 20.
The maneuvers began around 6.30 am local time (22:30 GMT on Thursday), when a fleet of helicopters and planes, including F-16 fighters, flew over the Taipei metropolitan area in front of hundreds of people who woke up early to witness the drill, according to the state Central News Agency.
After 7 am, a Chinook transport helicopter flew a huge Republic of China (official name of Taiwan) flag 18 meters long and 12 meters wide, over the presidential palace, escorted by several combat helicopters.
Then came the turn of the combat aircraft, both nationally manufactured (F-CK-1, T-5 Brave Eagle) and foreign (F-16, Mirage 2000), which flew over the building from north to south.
The rehearsal culminated in five Air Force AT-3 training planes releasing stripes of blue, white and red smoke over the presidential palace.
The test run will be repeated for the final time on May 19.
Lai, considered an “independence supporter” and a “troublemaker” by Beijing, will become the fifth democratically elected president of Taiwan next Monday, replacing Tsai Ing-wen, who will leave office after eight years as president.
The inauguration ceremony will be attended by dignitaries from more than 50 countries, including the United States, which confirmed the attendance of former officials Brian Deese, ex-director of the National Economic Council under President Joe Biden, and Richard Armitage, former deputy secretary of state under George W. Bush.
Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña and Guatemala’s Foreign Minister Carlos Ramiro Martínez will also be present – both countries are among the 12 nations that maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei over Beijing.
Since the presidential election on Jan. 13, which Lai won with 40 percent of the votes, China has intensified its pressure on Taiwan with various measures, among them the increase in Coast Guard patrols around the Kinmen Islands and the modification of several air routes near the Taiwan Strait.
The Taiwanese army, for its part, has said that it is prepared for any move by China regarding Lai’s inauguration.
Taiwan has been governed autonomously since 1949, although China claims sovereignty over the island, which it considers a rebel province and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve “reunification.” EFE
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