Silence for strength
The annual Wanan air defense exercises are akin to pressing the mute button on the restless, ever-bustling city of Taipei. The streets that are usually filled with the sounds of vehicles and voices come to a precise standstill, allowing the chirping of insects and birdsong a brief moment in the limelight. For those 30 minutes, there exists a silence so pure that it feels like being somewhere deep in the mountains — a kind of quiet that seems to calm the heart.
The public’s collective disappearing act is a deep-rooted habit and shared consciousness among Taiwanese — although the fines for refusing to participate also serve as a gentle reminder.
In a sense, the exercises are invisible — they are not meant to respond to an event that is happening, but to prepare for and prevent it.
In other parts of the world, many people’s lives are forcibly put on pause — power outages, fleeing a crisis, losing their freedom or even their lives — like a video stuck buffering on an unbearably slow Internet connection, endlessly spinning and unable to progress.
The Wanan exercises, by contrast, serve as a proactive measure — a sober acknowledgement and resistance to an ever-present possibility. True peace is not heaven-sent. It comes from thorough and thoughtful war preparation. Preparation to avoid conflict — that is to say, it is precisely because we are prepared that the enemy dare not act impulsively.
For half an hour, there is a moment of collective stillness across Taiwan. The silence fills the streets as if time has been gently folded, and the calls of insects and birds allow us to hear the peace within our own hearts.
When the mute button is pressed once again and the commotion returns, we know that the brief silence is about more than just maintaining discipline during a drill — rather, it is an echo of shared hope, and our hearts emerge much stronger than they were just 30 minutes prior.
Like the breath of Formosa, our treasured island, guarding this tranquil land in the Pacific — the Wanan exercises lay the foundation for a peaceful future.
Anonymous
Taipei
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