The government should better inform the public about the mobile Internet slowdown drills, being held this week as part of ongoing urban resilience exercises, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus said today.
The 30-minute mobile slowdown drill in central and northern Taiwan, held on Monday and tomorrow respectively, are meant to simulate communication disruption in the event of a Chinese attack or natural disaster.
The first round of drills took place on Monday in Taichung, Chiayi City and Changhua, Chiayi, Miaoli, Nantou and Yunlin counties.
Photo: CNA
Air raid sirens and government text alerts in Chinese and English sounded across central Taiwan on Monday, telling mobile users of “simulated air attacks on communication infrastructure" before mobile Internet speeds dropped.
A text alert message was also sent on Monday last week informing the public about the drills.
The exercise is to be repeated tomorrow in northern Taiwan from 2:30pm to 3pm, encompassing Taipei, New Taipei City, Hsinchu City, Hsinchu County, Keelung, Taoyuan and Yilan County.
While certain national security information can be kept confidential, the government should adequately warn the public of what to do during the drill, what it aims to accomplish, their legal basis, precise timings and the scope of the exercise, the KMT caucus told a news conference at the legislature.
The government should have devised a handbook on how to manage the Internet blackout and advised the public on how to access official information, it added.
It should also publicize the cost and efficacy of the drill and establish a mechanism for legislative oversight, it said.
The National Communications Commission last month advised the public to make necessary preparations before the drill, including taking screenshots or retaining paper copies of important information such as tickets and ensuring they can access information they may need offline during the blackout.
If Internet services continue to be obstructed following the drill, the commission advised turning airplane mode on and off again or restarting the device.
KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said that if the drill was intended to test whether delivery platforms, ATMs or Google Maps would remain operational, they would merely function as a “digital detox bootcamp.”
The drills should have a complete plan and operating procedure in place, and to prepare for a genuine wartime scenario, they should not be divided across regions, KMT spokesman Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) said.
KMT Legislator Ko Ju-chun (葛如鈞) said that a lack of clarity on the drills was like treating the public as “guinea pigs.”
If the government can recklessly cut off Internet access, it could eventually use network disruption to entrench its power and deal with those who raise questions, he added.
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