Taiwan has issued its first survival handbook to help citizens prepare for a potential Chinese invasion. The publication of the civil defence handbook comes on the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has raised fears that China could attempt to take advantage of the fact that international attention and efforts have been somewhat diverted by the Ukraine crisis, and seek to take similar action in Taiwan.
The handbook gives citizens instructions on how to find bomb shelters, water, and food supplies via smartphone apps, and also offers tips for preparing emergency first-aid kits. Using comic strips and pictures, it also guides readers on how to survive a military attack, distinguish air raid sirens, and ways to shelter from missiles. Moreover, the 28-page civil handbook contains QR codes for users to scan to access directions to safe spaces and what to do in a major emergency.
Taiwan issues its first war handbook advising citizens how to respond in the wake of an attack, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raises fears of a Chinese incursion at home https://t.co/d5cafr7VTv
— Bloomberg (@business) April 12, 2022
“(We) are providing information on how Taiwanese should react in a military crisis and possible disasters to come,” Liu Tai-yi, an official from the All-out Defence Mobilisation unit, told an online news conference. “This will enable safety preparedness and help people to survive,” he added. Liu also said that the handbook, which takes after similar guides published by Sweden and Japan, will be further updated with localised information such as the sites of shelters, hospitals, and shops for daily necessities.
Although the Ukraine war has created tension within the country, planning for the handbook pre-dates Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Other self-defence measures taken by the island include modernising its military and studying Ukraine’s resistance in the hopes of formulating its own battle strategy for a potential Chinese invasion. Its forces have already been incorporating “asymmetric warfare” into their own planning. Moreover, the government is also considering extending compulsory military service beyond the current four months.
If Taiwan engages in secession incited by the US and triggers a war, PLA will launch thousands of missiles on day one (the Russian military has used fewer than 1,000 so far) and smash the Taiwan army in dozens of hours. So, the Tsai Ing-wen authority should avoid provoking a war https://t.co/7JNStydtAf
— Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) April 12, 2022
However, while Chinese military aircraft have continued to infringe on Taiwan’s air defence identification zone over the past month, Taiwan has reported no other unusual Chinese manoeuvres.
In response to its publication, Chinese state-owned media house Global Times on Tuesday accused Taipei of aiming to “hype cross-Straits tensions,” saying that the move will not be “helpful to Taiwan secessionists should a conflict break out.”
The outlet quoted an unnamed Chinese mainland military expert saying that the guide, as well as the island’s regular military drills, were “futile” from a military point of view. The military expert cited the mainland’s “overwhelming capabilities” in comparison to those of the “Taiwan independence” secessionist forces. “The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will render them useless,” the expert said. “The secessionist Democratic Progressive Party authority is only deceiving themselves, while also making a political show to hype cross-Straits tensions,” they added.
The expert also blamed Taipei for harbouring an “evil intent” for issuing the handbook, as, “even if a cross-Straits military conflict breaks out, the PLA will only target secessionists, not ordinary people,” the expert said. China’s foreign or defence ministry is yet to make an official comment on the matter.