Sirens wailed, roads emptied, and people were ordered to stay indoors in Taiwan's capital Taipei on July 17 during an annual air-raid exercise aimed at preparing for any Chinese missile attack.

Taipei

Taiwan's capital, Taipei, recently conducted an annual air-raid exercise to prepare residents for the possibility of a Chinese missile attack. The drill included citywide sirens, mass evacuations, and simulated emergency scenarios such as a drone strike on a telecom building.

Taiwanese officials, including the president, emphasized the importance of readiness in the face of ongoing military intimidation and political pressure from China, which claims Taiwan as its territory. While some residents expressed increased vigilance due to the drill, others questioned its effectiveness in the event of a real conflict. The exercise coincided with a series of military drills held across the island.

Sirens wail, cities shut down as Taiwan simulates Chinese air raid

Sirens rang out across Taipei on Thursday, and across the Taiwanese capital, the urgency seemed very real, with mass evacuations underway and first responders jumping to action. Even harmless smoke poured out of this telecom building to simulate a drone attack. But in truth, it was all part of an annual drill to prepare the Taiwanese people for the potential of an attack by China. Taiwan's president, who took office last year, has been labelled by Beijing as a separatist, and he was on hand to explain why the drills were necessary. Threats from authoritarianism have never stopped. From military intimidation to internal infiltration and political warfare, all of this happens on a daily basis. Under such circumstances, we can only be prepared. Modern China has never ruled Taiwan, but claims the island as its own. Chinese President Xi Jinping has threatened to annex Taiwan by force, stepping up incursions by China's military in Taiwan's defense zone. Some residents of the Taiwanese capital said the drills drive home the real potential of a Chinese attack. XI JINPING, Taiwanese President of the United States and President of the United States of America, said in a statement. The exercises make everyone more vigilant, and they raise the public's awareness. By conducting drills in advance, when the real enemy comes, or missiles arrive, we can quickly find places to take cover. But not everyone was convinced. XI JINPING, Taiwanese President of the United States and President of the United States of America, said in a statement. I feel that the exercises probably won't be much help. If a war really breaks out in Taiwan, the first thing to be destroyed would definitely be the most basic infrastructure, like power plants. Once those are taken out, Taiwan would almost certainly collapse. The drills happened in conjunction with 10 days of military exercises in Taiwan, which end on Friday.

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