Taiwan Society
Foreign Students Reflect on Taiwan Annual Air Raid Drill
On July 27–30, Taiwan conducted its annual series of air raid drills throughout the country, to the surprise of many foreign residents.
Sirens signaled the start and end of the drill at 1:30 and 2:00 p.m., respectively. Everyone was required to get off the streets or stay in a building, most public transportation stopped, and some people received emergency alerts on their cell phones.
Authorities provided proper warnings in advance, so most people knew how to adjust their afternoon plans accordingly. Breaking the evacuation rules could result in a fine.
The drill serves as a reminder of increasing cross-strait tension in recent months — it helps simulate an air attack. Many foreign news outlets phrased headlines as if the training directly resulted from such uncertainty when it is an annual occurrence.
Thus, the locals around me did not seem perturbed by the day’s events as we waited out the drill in a Louisa coffee shop.
To my foreign peers, the drill was anything but ordinary; we may be used to fire, tornado, and lockdown drills in schools, but an air raid was new territory.
My fellow study abroad students could sense anxiety in the group chat.
Most people understand that the drill’s potential dangers will not affect us but will undoubtedly affect the people and places we have grown to love long after we leave.
Elissa, a student from the U.S., said the drill was not scary at the time, but reflecting on it in the following days gave her a new awareness of the realities faced by Taiwanese citizens: “I can almost compare it to being young during COVID, and being unable to plan for the future, but here it is much more tied to identity, culture, and recent history.”
She imagines it may be hard for parents to explain the reason behind the raid to children, which reminds her of stories older generations in the US still tell about nuclear attack drills they participated in as students during the Cold War.
Another student, Caroline, noted that her initial concern went away after her teacher explained that such drills happen regularly and are not seen as a big deal. She was on the MRT during the military exercise and waited with others at a station.
The strangest part was seeing the “road completely devoid of traffic as people flooded back out at the end of the drill.” The experience gave her the impression that most people are “pretty nonchalant” about the potential of an air raid.
Still, others feel that the drill was not intense enough. Cece, a study abroad student, believes that in the event of an actual air raid, simply staying inside would not suffice; all traffic would need to cease, and gas, water, and electricity would be cut off.
She described the Taiwanese government’s approach as “xíngshì zhǔyì” (形式主義) — a formality for its own sake. A more severe drill would inconvenience daily life, so a pared-down version must do.
An actual air raid would look different than a drill, but one can only hope there will never be a reason to find out just how different. In the meantime, it is wise to prepare.
