Story perspectives

Taiwan Blocks Danjiang Bridge Lanes in Han Kuang Drill

8/9/2026

Summary

Story summary

Taiwan closed the Danjiang Bridge’s lanes from 8 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday for a blockade drill.
Engineers erected a 13-meter-wide, 200-meter-long barrier of concrete blocks, steel hedgehogs and barbed wire, installed and removed it in four hours, and used wooden beams to protect the deck.
The drill, part of the 10-day Han Kuang exercises, saw over 20,000 reservists defend the world’s longest single-mast asymmetric cable-stayed Danjiang Bridge and other critical sites.

History

Historical Context

In July 1995 the PRC began missile launches that escalated into the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis; by March 1996 the PLA fired dozens of missiles, mobilized 150,000 troops, and drew carrier groups including USS Independence and USS Nimitz. Lee Teng-hui then mobilized 30,000 reservists, proving drills deter aggression—a model Taiwan repeats in the Han Kuang exercise with 20,000 reservists and concrete barriers at the Danjiang Bridge.

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Story summary

Taiwan closed the Danjiang Bridge’s lanes from 8 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday for a blockade drill.
Engineers erected a 13-meter-wide, 200-meter-long barrier of concrete blocks, steel hedgehogs and barbed wire, installed and removed it in four hours, and used wooden beams to protect the deck.
The drill, part of the 10-day Han Kuang exercises, saw over 20,000 reservists defend the world’s longest single-mast asymmetric cable-stayed Danjiang Bridge and other critical sites.

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