TAIPEI: Taiwan’s defense ministry on Tuesday launched its newly updated civil defense handbook, saying the aim is not to cause panic but to get people prepared in case there is a crisis like an attack by China, which views the island as its own territory.
Democratically-governed Taiwan has stepped up its resilience and defense preparations as China has increased its military activities around the island over the past five years, and has drawn lessons from Ukraine’s defense against Russia.
Taiwan’s new handbook, which Reuters reviewed last week, gives a list of scenarios Taiwan might face, from natural disasters like a tsunami to an all-out invasion, and is the third edition after first being published in 2022.
Shen Wei-chih, director at the Taiwan military’s All-out Defense Mobilization Agency, told a news conference at the defense ministry that 5,000 hard copies will be printed for distribution initially, while it can also be downloaded online. There is an English-language version too.
“Why are we releasing this handbook during a time of peace? It is not to create panic, but to tell people you need to make preparations while there is peace, so when crisis happens you won’t know what to do,” he said.
“The earlier you are prepared, the earlier you study (the booklet), the earlier you will be safe.”
Shen said the government wants people to put a copy of the handbook in grab bags containing emergency supplies stored in an easily accessible location.
It also includes instructions on how to listen to the radio in case the Internet goes down, the use of landlines for dedicated government hotlines, and advice on going to police stations or neighborhood government offices to get verified information if radio broadcasts are inaccessible.
In a section on possible disinformation, it warns that “adversaries may also disguise themselves as friendly forces,” showing a cartoon image of a soldier with a Chinese flag and people running away.
Taiwan’s government strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future. China has rebuffed multiple offers of talks from Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, saying he is a “separatist.”
China’s military on Saturday released a new music video aimed at Taiwan called “Plant the flag of victory on Formosa,” showing missiles being fired, marines storming beaches and images of Taipei 101, once the world’s tallest building and still a major city landmark.
“We are the vanguard for reunification,” is one of the lyrics.
Taiwan launches new civil defense guide, says not aiming to cause panic
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Taiwan launches new civil defense guide, says not aiming to cause panic
- Taiwan has stepped up its resilience and defense preparations as China has increased its military activities around the island
- Taiwan’s new handbook gives a list of scenarios Taiwan might face, from natural disasters like a tsunami to an all-out invasion
UN envoy hopeful on Cyprus, says multi-party summit premature
- Holguin said she was hopeful after meeting with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman
- “While encouraging, the dialogue process between both leaders is at its early beginning”
NICOSIA: The key UN envoy seeking to break a deadlock in Cyprus’s long-running division said she was cautiously optimistic about a breakthrough but that it would be premature to convene a multi-nation summit on the conflict.
In an interview with Cyprus’s Phileleftheros daily, envoy Maria Angela Holguin said she was hopeful after meeting with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on December 11. She said their discussion, which agreed to focus also on confidence-building, was “deep, sincere and very straightforward.”
“While encouraging, the dialogue process between both leaders is at its early beginning. More will need to be done in order to strengthen the nascent momentum and establish a real climate of trust that would allow the Secretary-General to convene a 5+1 informal meeting,” said Holguin, a former Colombian foreign minister.
A 5+1 meeting would be an informal summit of the two Cypriot communities with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and representatives of Britain, Turkiye and Greece to define how to move forward and break a seven-year stalemate in peace talks. The three NATO nations are guarantor powers of Cyprus under a treaty which granted the island independence from Britain in 1960.
A power-sharing administration of Cypriot Greeks and Turks crumbled in 1963. Turkiye invaded the north of the island in 1974 after a brief coup engineered by the military then ruling Greece. The island has been split on ethnic lines ever since.
Turkish Cypriots live in a breakaway state in the north, while Greek Cypriots in the south run an internationally recognized administration representing the whole island in the European Union.
