Collapsing buildings, incoming missiles: Taiwan rehearses a Chinese assault on its cities

Chinese navy ships had massed in the Taiwan Strait and war was expected. The drills, which are being held weekly across Taiwan's major cities in May and June, are a sign that the Taiwan authorities realise they need to improve civil defence readiness, as the threat from China grows. Defending Taiwan's critical infrastructure Taiwan's cities are home to 80% of the island's population and the government has started to step up its defence of urban areas. Taipower can quickly respond to isolated faults and outages, but the grid itself is under strain and Taiwan's cities experience frequent blackouts in the summer. 'Civilians need training' Beijing has maintained its claim over Taiwan for decades, and until recently most Taiwan residents would respond to questions about the threat of invasion with words of defiance or dismissal. Some in Taipei are attending talks on disaster and conflict preparedness by Tobie, a South African who has lived in Taiwan for 25 years and who has written a book on the topic. Schee is worried that experienced groups like Red Cross Taiwan and Taiwan's neighbourhood networks of volunteers, which are experienced in responding to local natural disasters like landslides and floods, aren't getting enough interest from young people who are looking for ways to be involved with the defence of Taiwan.