Taiwan Issues War Survival Handbook for Civilians as Threat of Invasion by China Looms

What’s the story?

• Taiwan’s defense ministry this week released its first-ever wartime survival handbook for civilians to use in the event that another country, such as the People’s Republic of China, attempts a military invasion in an effort to topple the country’s democratic government. The Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense explained in a tweet:

“Plan ahead in all affairs and you shall be successful,” said Confucius. The new guide sample from our mobilization agency provides a solid ground for our local governments to instruct citizens on what to do when emergencies including disasters and military assaults come.

• The survival handbook is modeled after similar guides that the governments of Japan, Sweden, and Poland have prepared for their civilians to use in the event of a military attack, and also includes information about how to survive natural disasters. Reuters reported that planning for the handbook began before Russia invaded Ukraine, which caused Taiwan to raise its military alertness level even as its government hasn’t reported signs of an imminent invasion by China.
• The release of the survival guide comes as China ratchets up pressure on Taiwan to compel the island nation’s unification with the mainland’s communist government, which in recent years extinguished the previously autonomous and democratic government of Hong Kong. 

What’s in the handbook?

• The 28-page handbook includes QR code links to several websites and apps for both Android and iOS devices. It’s modeled after handbooks that the governments of Japan and Sweden have prepared for their civilians to use in the event of a military attack.
• Links take readers to apps and sites that notify people about available emergency medical services; military announcements, including mobilization into the army reserve; weather and power outages; and ways to contact different emergency services, including the ministry of the interior police service.
• The handbook describes how civilians should differentiate between different types of alarms or air raid sirens and how to respond when they go off; how to safely enter evacuation facilities; and recommends supplies to include in emergency medical and evacuation kits.
• Officials plan to make additional updates to the guide with locally-focused information such as the sites of shelters, hospitals, and medical facilities, in addition to shops where civilians can obtain supplies. 

Why is Taiwan concerned about a foreign military invasion?

• Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials, including General Secretary Xi Jinping, have made China’s reunification with Taiwan a priority in what they see as an “unshakeable commitment” to China’s ascent into a position of global leadership. It has undertaken a substantial military buildup aimed at improving its ability to launch a successful invasion of Taiwan.
• The CCP regards the self-governing democracy of Taiwan (also known as the Republic of China or ROC) as a rogue province and has threatened to compel a reunion by military force across the 110-mile-wide Taiwan Strait if the ROC pursues formal independence.
• Beyond the rhetorical posturing, China has recently stepped up its campaign of military intimidation against Taiwan by repeatedly flying its military aircraft into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in a bid to tire Taiwan’s military, which responds to the incursions by scrambling aircraft to intercept and tracking them with surface-to-air missile batteries.
• In October 2021, the People’s Republic of China launched a record number of flights that violated Taiwan’s ADIZ over the course of four days. Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine there continue to be regular incursions by China into Taiwan’s ADIZ, the most recent of which involved six Chinese aircraft on Friday, April 15th.

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— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / fotoVoyager)