Smoke and explosions in central Taipei part of civil defense drill

台北市民安演習中心部分地區冒煙爆炸

'War games' and 'general exercises for practical situations' rolled out by defense ministry


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Flipped buses and rubble from collapsed buildings were strewn across the square in front of Taipei City Hall on Thursday afternoon (May 4) to simulate a disaster scenario and help Taipei City’s emergency response systems to prepare.

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) led the civil defense drill in Taipei’s Xinyi District as part of Taiwan’s All Out Defense Mobilization exercises. It was carried out across 11 cities between April and June.

The drills are being carried out in the context of increasing cross strait tensions and the ongoing Ukraine war, according to Taipei officials. They said the exercises will help prepare Taiwan for an effective response to possible disaster and war scenarios.

All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency head Shen Wei-chih (沈威志) said the drills were divided into “war games” and “general exercises for practical situations.”

The Army, emergency services, and central government participated in the exercise, while local governments were tasked with coordinating the private sector, volunteers, and reservists. Taiwan’s search and rescue team, which recently assisted Turkey following the deadly 7.8 magnitude Kahramanmaras earthquake also participated, demonstrating rescues from collapsed buildings and crushed vehicles.

Firefighting teams in hazmat suits were also seen hosing down actors playing victims of mock explosions, and actors stuck on top of collapsed buildings were winched to safety.

Taipei City Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) visited four sites throughout Xinyi for the exercises, including Taipei 101 and a Songshan high school, to see how different venues could be utilized during disasters. Chiang said that while peace is what everyone wants, preparedness is also important, adding that all the participants in the drills were "Taipei’s pride."

Legislators have recently been debating proposed reforms to Taiwan’s civil defense laws, which outline measures for mobilizing Taiwan’s population in the event of an invasion. The defense ministry said in February that the act, introduced in 2001 and amended in 2014 and 2019, placed too much emphasis on preparations and not enough on practical issues once mobilization had been declared.

In addition to government efforts, civil society groups are offering civil defense training programs. One group aims to train 3 million Taiwanese civilians to learn defense skills, first aid, operation of unmanned aerial vehicles, and to use radio communications.

Taiwan’s civil defense preparations focus on disaster response and preparedness. Calls from U.S. politicians to arm Taiwan’s population with automatic rifles to defend against a Chinese invasion have been dismissed by Taiwan’s premier. The head of another private civil defense training group told Taiwan News that Taiwanese are generally unfamiliar with guns.

The series of civil defense exercises will continue until late July, and the next drill will be conducted in the outlying island province of Kinmen on May 11. Similar exercises will also be conducted in Taitung, Penghu, Hualien, Keelung, Tainan, and Chiayi.