The annual Wanan (萬安) air raid drill will be held at 2:30pm today in seven northern cities and counties, and residents in those areas are urged to stay inside of the building or follow instructions for evacuation during the 30-minute drill.
The drill, which covers areas between Hsinchu County and Ilan County, was rescheduled to today after complaints were raised over the plans to hold a nighttime drill earlier this month.
The Ministry of National Defense was criticized for disturbing the public by scheduling a nighttime drill. Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) later told a Cabinet meeting that the ministry should move the drill back to the daytime so that it would not inconvenience people.
The ministry says people inside buildings should turn off their electricity and lights, and close their windows after hearing the siren.
Those who are outdoors should follow the instructions of the military or police officers, it said.
There will be traffic controls during the drill, but public transportation, including the Taipei MRT, Kaohsiung High Speed Rail, trains, boats and planes, will continue running during the period, the ministry said. Passengers who exit trains will be directed to designated areas, while drivers will be required to pull their vehicles to the curb, it said.
Failure to follow the rules could result in fines between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000.
The Taipei City Government will monitor the situation from the 72th floor of Taipei 101.
The drill in eastern Taiwan had been planned for Aug. 13 between 6am and 6:30am but public complaints forced the ministry to reschedule it to between 2pm and 2:30pm the same day.
Elsewhere around the country, the air raid drill will be held on Kinmen next Monday between 3pm and 3:30pm; on Sept. 9 in central Taiwan between 9:30am and 10am; on Sept. 17 on Matsu between 9:30am and 10am and on Sept. 23 in southern Taiwan between 1:30pm and 2pm.
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Saturday that she would not be intimidated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), following reports that Chinese agents planned to ram her car during a visit to the Czech Republic last year. "I had a great visit to Prague & thank the Czech authorities for their hospitality & ensuring my safety," Hsiao said on social media platform X. "The CCP's unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan's interests in the international community," she wrote. Hsiao visited the Czech Republic on March 18 last year as vice president-elect and met with Czech Senate leadership, including
There have been clear signs of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempts to interfere in the nationwide recall vote on July 26 in support of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators facing recall, an unnamed government official said, warning about possible further actions. The CCP is actively involved in Taiwanese politics, and interference in the recall vote is to be expected, with multiple Chinese state media and TAO attempts to discredit the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and undermine public support of their recall movement, the official said. This interference includes a smear campaign initiated this month by a pro-Beijing Hong Kong news outlet against
A week-long exhibition on modern Tibetan history and the Dalai Lama’s global advocacy opened yesterday in Taipei, featuring quotes and artworks highlighting human rights and China’s ongoing repression of Tibetans, Hong Kongers and Uighurs. The exhibition, the first organized by the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT), is titled “From the Snowy Ridges to the Ocean of Wisdom.” “It would be impossible for Tibetans inside Tibet to hold an exhibition like this — we can do it. because we live in a free and democratic country,” HRNTT secretary-general Tashi Tsering said. Tashi Tsering, a Taiwan-based Tibetan who has never
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
RSS