Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP) members on Friday accused the Ministry of National Defense of creating a “make-believe” civil defense handbook, given that the document contains dead Internet links and telephone numbers to canceled hotlines.
The handbook sparked controversy after it was published last year, prompting criticism that it had thin content and offered unrealistic recommendations.
Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) promised at the time that mistakes in the handbook would be rectified, but the document shows no sign of improvement one year later, Taiwan Statebuilding Party Kaohsiung City Councilor Chang Po-yang (張博洋) told reporters in Taipei.
Photo: Yang Cheng-yu, Taipei Times
QR codes in the handbook meant to access important information do not work, and the 1991 hotline for people to report that they are are safe does not connect anywhere, he said.
The manual offers no information on how civilians can ensure their safety if they are caught amid gunfire, he added.
The manual does not include instruction on safety tasks for civilians during wartime or a code of conduct for civilians in an active war zone, a problem that has not been amended since the book’s publication, Chang said.
The central government offered no clear guidelines after telling local governments that they must adapt the manual for local needs, which hamstrung city and county-level efforts to write regional editions of the handbook, he said.
Assigning responsibility for conducting civil defense tasks to the National Conscription Agency and the civil affairs departments of local governments was a mistake, as personnel at the agencies have no training or knowledge in military affairs, he added.
Citing Kaohsiung as an example, Chang said funding was lacking and the 2,500 civil defense personnel had a small annual budget of NT$100,000 for training.
The ministry’s “negligence” and “laziness” in writing the handbook cast doubt on its ability to “manage a war even on paper,” said Tainan City Councilor Lee Chong-lim (李宗霖), who represents the TSP.
Watchout and other advocacy groups have translated foreign civil defense manuals, including one from Ukraine, which provide instructions on handling information and hybrid warfare, as well as guidelines to help civilians protect themselves in a war zone, Lee said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has had seven years to fix the problems left by her predecessor, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), but she has not done so, he added.
The ministry later in the day said that 10 interdepartmental discussions and two expert panels had been convened to amend the handbook since the first edition’s publication, adding that an updated manual would be published soon.
Additional reporting by Wu Su-wei
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