{
  "id": 3427287,
  "title": "So-called 'English teachers' at Taiwan's big war games are an open secret — US military help is getting harder to hide",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/so-called-english-teachers-at-taiwans-big-war-games-are-an-open",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-26T04:42:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Insider",
    "slug": "business-insider",
    "url": "https://www.businessinsider.com/us-quietly-help-taiwan-train-fight-china-han-kuang-2026-8"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "So-called English teachers at Taiwan's major war games have become an open secret, with US military help growing harder to conceal. Taiwan conducts an annual islandwide exercise to simulate a Chinese invasion, and local media estimates that over 100 US military advisors and trainers attended this year's Han Kuang exercise, which involved 10 intense days of drills across the island. These so-called English teachers are often spotted in small groups, chatting with local soldiers and giving death stares to reporters. The US sells weaponry to Taiwan, but overt military ties are politically sensitive, and the American military presence remains covert. A 2021 report found that small teams of US special operations forces trained Taiwanese troops on the island. At this year's Han Kuang, US special operations forces were noticeable in the English teachers. Defense Minister Koo Li-hsiung said the collaboration is closer than one might imagine. US-Taiwanese military collaboration is far closer than you might imagine.",
  "summary": "It's an open secret in Taiwan that the US is advising its troops closely. This year, Taipei addressed that elephant in the room.",
  "key_points": [
    "\"English teachers\" at Taiwan's war games are open secret",
    "US military help growing harder to hide",
    "US special operations forces trained Taiwanese troops in 2021"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The growing visibility of US military personnel at Taiwan's war games signals a shift towards more overt cooperation between the US and Taiwan, despite the political sensitivity of overt military ties.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}