China recreating Taiwan's government buildings at military training ground

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China continues large-scale construction of mock-ups of Taiwanese government buildings at the Zhurihe military training base, Japanese daily Sankei Shimbun reports.

According to the newspaper, the size of the training complex has nearly tripled since 2020.

Japan’s think tank, the Foundation for Basic National Problems, notes that a model of Taiwan’s parliament building has recently been completed, located next to a replica of the Presidential Office. Previously, mock-ups of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government institutions of Taiwan were also observed at the site.

The daily says that military exercises are regularly held at the training ground, practising scenarios of battles for key facilities, including the Presidential Office. Japanese experts believe that such constructions could be used to prepare for a potential “decapitation operation” — a rapid strike aimed at capturing Taiwan’s leadership in the event of an armed conflict.

In 2024, Taiwan’s Liberty Times reported on a second training base in the Alxa League desert, featuring replicas of road junctions and urban layouts of the Bo’ai District in central Taipei.

By Khagan Isayev