This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission. The annual Han Kuang military exercise is underway across Taiwan but parts of the drills have had to be scaled back because what could be the most powerful typhoon to hit the island in years  is due to make landfall. Han Kuang, in its 40th iteration this year, is Taiwan’s largest annual military exercise. It covers key strategic locations including Greater Taipei, Tainan and Kaohsiung. The military said 29,000 troops had been put on stand-by for disaster relief after the weather office warned that Typhoon Gaemi is expected to unleash winds of up to 184 kph, with gusts of up to 227 kph, and to dump torrential rain. The storm, which is due to reach the coast on Wednesday evening, is forecast to be the strongest to hit Taiwan in eight years and could cause severe landslides and flooding. Yilan and Hualien counties in the east of the island are expected to be the worst hit. An air drill with fighter jets taking off, landing and refueling quickly from Hualien Air Base has been canceled.  Hundreds of commercial flights were also canceled or delayed, and Taiwan Railways said all of its services had been suspended for 12 hours from Wednesday afternoon. Streets in the capital Taipei are empty as offices and schools are shut. The games must go on The ministry of defense said most of the drills, scheduled for July 22-26, are to go ahead despite the weather. The Taiwanese army’s First Theatre of Operation conducted a joint anti-landing exercise on Penghu island in the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday morning. For the first time, the exercise was live streamed on Facebook, the ministry said. However, only ground troops were taking part in the drills as

Navy To Expunge Records For SEALs, Sailors Who Refused COVID Vaccines Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times, The U.S. Navy has agreed to correct the records of SEALs and sailors who declined to receive COVID-19 vaccines due to their religious beliefs, under a settlement approved by a federal court on July 24. “Defendants agree to re-review the personnel records of all class members to ensure that the U.S. Navy has permanently removed records indicating administrative separation processing or proceedings, formal counseling, and non-judicial punishment actions taken against the class members solely on the basis of non-compliance with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate and adverse information related to non-compliance with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate,” the settlement agreement states. The review must be finished within nine months, according to the agreement. The Navy has also agreed to review the records of class members discharged over refusal to receive a COVID-19 shot. Officials “will remove any indication from that service member’s records that he or she was discharged for misconduct” and make sure the discharged members are listed as eligible for enlistment. The expungement of records must be completed within one year according to the agreement. All Navy members who filed a religious request for an exemption from the Navy’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and were actively serving as of March 28, 2022, are covered by the settlement. That includes people who rescinded their accommodation requests in order to leave the military. Some 4,339 individuals are affected by the settlement, according to court documents. “This has been a long and difficult journey, but the Navy SEALs never gave up,” Danielle Runyan, senior counsel at the First Liberty Institute, said in a statement. “We are thrilled that those members of the Navy who were guided by their conscience and steadfast in their faith will