Taipei Halts As Taiwan Stages Mass Evacuations And War Drills Amid China Threat
Taipei conducted a major civil defence exercise simulating a Chinese attack, coinciding with Taiwan's Han Kuang military drills.
Taiwan's capital Taipei came to a standstill as the island conducted one of its largest-ever civil defence exercises, simulating how citizens and emergency services would respond to a Chinese attack. The drills coincided with Taiwan's annual Han Kuang military exercises as the self-governing island ramps up efforts to strengthen its defences amid increasing pressure from Beijing.
Air raid sirens rang out across the Taipei metropolitan area, forcing residents to seek shelter indoors while traffic was brought to a complete halt. Businesses, shops and restaurants were required to pause operations as drivers instructed to pull over and head indoors immediately.
In key areas of the city- including temple squares, subway stations, highways and schools-emergency workers and volunteers carried out evacuation drills. Authorities also simulated mass casualty events, mimicking missile or bomb strikes, with rescuers pulling out 'survivors," treating mock injuries and distributing emergency supplies.
This year's Urban Resilience exercise marks the first time that civil defence drills have been fully integrated into the Han Kuang war games, Taiwan's most significant annual military exercise. Taiwan President William Lai said, 'We hope by preparing for war, we can avoid war, to achieve the goal of peace. With preparation, we have strength."
China Condemns Drill As 'Self-Deceiving Stance'
Beijing, which views Taiwan as a breakaway province and has not ruled out the use of force to reunify the island, sharply criticised the exercises. Chinese authorities called the drills 'a bluff and self-deceiving stance" as tensions between China and Taiwan have grown significantly since Lai's election earlier this year. China has particularly targeted Lai, branding him a 'separatist." Taiwan also tested newly acquired defence systems including the US-supplied HIMARS mobile missile launcher and domestically produced rockets.
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