TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — This year’s National Day celebration will feature a Chinook helicopter flyover with a giant national flag, according to the Ministry of National Defense.

There will also be an aerial display showcasing Taiwan’s latest Brave Eagle jet trainers and the Thunder Tiger aerobatic team, it said. A rehearsal was carried out early Friday (Oct. 6) morning, with Mirage 2000 fighters flying over Taipei to surveil the surrounding airspace, Liberty Times reported.

A UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter then conducted additional surveillance at 6:40 a.m. Five Brave Eagle trainer jets then took off from Hsinchu Air Base and flew over the Presidential Office.

At 7 a.m., a Chinook helicopter, carrying a massive flag measuring 18 meters long and 12 meters wide, passed over the Presidential Office. It was escorted by two Black Hawk helicopters, with one on each side.

Fifteen minutes later, six AT-3 trainer aircraft from the Thunder Tiger aerobatic team emitted red, white, and blue smoke as they flew east to west over the Presidential Office, wrapping up the full-scale rehearsal.

The National Day festivities have been mired in political controversy after former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said he will not attend the event because the English name “Republic of China (ROC) National Day” has been replaced with “Taiwan National Day.” Changing the name normalizes Taiwan independence and endangers Taiwan’s people, he said.

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) also said he would not be attending the event. Instead, Chiang said he would be at a separate celebration promoting the ROC in Taipei that was planned long in advance.