The Ministry of National Defense has released a civil defense handbook aimed at informing Taiwanese how to seek refuge in major nationwide emergencies, including a military conflict, to be better prepared for various contingencies.
The 28-page Chinese-language handbook contains QR codes for users to scan to access directions for where to go and what to do in a major emergency, All-out Defense Mobilization Agency Director Liu Tai-yi (劉泰益) said at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
The pamphlet outlines safety measures for civilians during an air raid, major fire, building collapse, major power outage, water shortage or shortage of essential goods, explains basic survival skills and offers an emergency hotline people can call, Liu said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Defense via CNA
It also has a section on combat preparedness and wartime reserve force mobilization that provides a general guide on where reservists would have to report should a war break out, he said.
The ministry said that it has been working on the project since last year, and took into consideration information from similar handbooks issued by the Swedish and Japanese governments, as well as inputs from local governments, academics and experts.
The handbook is being issued amid concerns over China’s intentions toward Taiwan and the possibility that it could launch a cross-strait conflict.
It is available to download at https://www.mnd.gov.tw/Publish.aspx?title=國防消息&p= 79745&SelectStyle=公告專區.
In related news, the ministry early yesterday morning held an air defense drill to test the readiness of the military against an aerial attack.
The exercise, which ran from 5am to 7am, was conducted primarily to test the defensive capabilities and combat readiness of operational ground troops, the ministry said, without further elaboration.
Tthe aircraft used in the simulated air attack included F-16s, Indigenous Defense Fighters and AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, said a military official who asked not to be named.
The aircraft flew sorties over areas around Taipei without prior warning to verify the responsiveness of the nation’s air defense forces, the official said, and the drill was held early in the morning to avoid interfering with civilian aircraft.
It was an important test of the readiness of the military in the event of an aerial attack from China, the official added.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
FIRST TRIAL: Ko’s lawyers sought reduced bail and other concessions, as did other defendants, but the bail judge denied their requests, citing the severity of the sentences Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was yesterday sentenced to 17 years in prison and had his civil rights suspended for six years over corruption, embezzlement and other charges. Taipei prosecutors in December last year asked the Taipei District Court for a combined 28-year, six-month sentence for the four cases against Ko, who founded the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The cases were linked to the Core Pacific City (京華城購物中心) redevelopment project and the mismanagement of political donations. Other defendants convicted on separate charges included Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), who was handed a 15-year, six-month sentence; Core Pacific