China considers Taiwan its territory and has increased military activity in the air and seas around it. Taiwan is committed to defending itself and has made strengthening its defense a priority, with regular military and civil defense exercises. read more Preparations include designating shelters where people can take cover if Chinese missiles start flying, not in purpose-built bunkers but in underground spaces such as underground car parks, the subway system and underground shopping malls. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register The capital city of Taipei has more than 4,600 such shelters that can accommodate about 12 million people, more than four times its population. Harmony Wu, 18, was surprised to learn that an underground mall where she and other kids recently rehearsed some dance moves would be turned into an air raid shelter in case of war. But he said he could understand why. “Having a shelter is very necessary. We don’t know when a war might come and we need to be kept safe,” Wu said at the site near a Taipei subway station. “War is brutal. We have never experienced it, so we are not prepared,” he said. Taipei officials have updated their database of designated shelters, put their locations on a smartphone app and are launching a social media and poster campaign to make sure people know how to find the nearest one. The shelter’s entrances are marked with a yellow tag, about the size of an A4 paper, with the maximum number of people it can take. A senior official in the city’s office in charge of shelters said events in Europe had brought a renewed sense of urgency. “Look at the war in Ukraine,” Abercrombie Yang, director of the Office of Building Management, told Reuters. “There is no guarantee that the innocent public will not be hit,” he said, adding that this is why the public needed to be informed. “All citizens must be aware of the crisis… We need the shelters in case of an attack by the Chinese Communists.”
“THERE IS NO LAYER”
Last month, Taiwan held a comprehensive island-wide air strike exercise for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic halted regular drills. Among the instructions given to citizens in the event of incoming projectiles was to descend into their underground parking spaces with their hands covering their eyes and ears while keeping their mouths open – to minimize the effect of the blast waves. Some civil defense advocates say more needs to be done. Authorities are required by law to keep shelters clean and open, but they don’t have to be stocked with supplies like food and water. Investigators in parliament called in June for shelters to be provided with emergency supplies. Wu Enoch of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party says the public should prepare survival kits to take with them when they seek shelter. “What matters is what you bring with you, so people can stay there for a long time,” Wu said, citing medical supplies and even tools to build a makeshift toilet. After a decade of rattling across the Taiwan Strait that separates the democratic island from China, many Taiwanese people seem resigned to the threat of a Chinese invasion. “I’m not stressed. I’m going about my life as usual. When it happens, it happens,” said Teresa Chang, 17, who was also going through her paces at underground dance practice. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Yimou Lee, Fabian Hamacher and Ann Wang. Edited by Robert Birsel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
