When China attacks: People in Taiwan prepare for Day X

In the office building on an inconspicuous side street in Taipei, an emergency is the order of the day. While outside the bustling city life of the Taiwanese capital rages between street vendors and food stalls, inside the focus is on warfare, propaganda and first aid. 40 mostly young people have gathered at the Kuma Academy on a Saturday – the majority of them women.

“The main reason I came here is to learn about the current state of Taiwan’s defense,” says 27-year-old Su. The island republic with more than 23 million inhabitants is separated from China by a strait that is around 130 kilometers wide at its narrowest point (the Taiwan Strait). The communist government in Beijing considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and wants to bring the island under its control, although it has never governed it before and an independently elected government has been in power there for decades.

Beijing is citing history: After the Second World War, Taiwan was awarded to the Republic of China. However, a civil war was raging there between the communists and the supporters of the nationalist Chinese Kuomintang. When the nationalists lost, they fled to Taiwan and continued to rule there as the Republic of China. In the same year, 1949, revolutionary leader Mao Zedong proclaimed the People’s Republic of China in Beijing. Beijing has repeatedly threatened to “reunite” Taiwan with the mainland, including through military means, if this cannot be achieved peacefully.

War Awareness Training

“The academy is more about creating awareness of a possible war,” says co-founder Shen Po-yang – also known as Puma Shen in Taiwan. People should be prepared in case China begins its invasion of Taiwan and not panic.

According to Shen, the best time to attack from Beijing’s perspective could be between 2025 and 2027, or when the Chinese leadership is sure that a majority of Taiwanese will surrender immediately. If enough people have the knowledge from the academy’s courses, they can protect themselves and others, says Shen, who sits on the parliament’s defense committee for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

According to the academy, around 40,000 people have already completed the training since October 2022. In terms of age, there are all ages, from teenagers to army veterans. Almost two-thirds of the course participants are women. Participant Su explains that women are more interested in the course because men have already been in the army through conscription in Taiwan and are therefore already familiar with the subject matter. Academy spokesman Aaron Huang also points out that men are more often deployed in public service, for example in the fire service or disaster relief after earthquakes, and therefore already have experience.

First Hour: Invasion

The morning at the “Civil Defense Training” begins with heavy fare: In the war theory course, a lecturer talks about so-called gray zone tactics. Taiwan experiences these almost daily when fighter jets from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army fly over the unofficial center line in the Taiwan Strait and penetrate the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) – not to be confused with airspace.

The teacher also mentally rehearses an invasion. China’s military offered a foretaste of this at the end of May, when the navy, air force and army rehearsed a blockade around Taiwan and smaller islands near China. In an emergency, China wants to cut off escape routes from Taiwan and block outside aid for the island. The leadership ordered the exercise as a punishment because Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, took office a few days earlier and, from Beijing’s perspective, clearly stated his intentions for independence in his speech.

Beijing sees him and his DPP, which supports Taiwan’s independence, as separatists. Taipei has never officially declared independence. This has led to many countries having major diplomatic disputes with Beijing. Only very few states officially recognize Taiwan. Not even the USA, Taiwan’s closest ally, is one of them, although Washington has promised support in the event of a defense.

Advice and war videos

At the academy, a lecturer is now speaking about propaganda and influence on the Internet, especially on social media. Even before the elections in January, Taiwanese politicians had accused China of influencing public opinion in this way. Participant Ariel You is happy with the advice. This helps her to be more vigilant about information on the Internet, says the late 20-year-old. Puma Shen is calling for a strengthening of cyber security. China’s hackers are very strong, he explains. He also wants more protection on platforms like Tiktok against Chinese propaganda.

The mood in the seminar room is cheerful despite the serious topics. Participant You is particularly looking forward to the first aid part. “I learned bandaging techniques when I was younger and then forgot them,” she says. But before they get down to business, the medic teaching the lesson suddenly makes the war seem very close: He plays a video of a Ukrainian soldier whose leg is blown off by a mine and who then ties off his own leg with a tourniquet to prevent himself from bleeding to death.

Some in the room hide behind the course materials so as not to have to see the gruesome scene. Shortly afterwards, they practice how to properly apply the tourniquet or carry away the injured. Participant Su says she is now a little calmer: “I think knowing some things makes it easier to understand that it is not so easy for them (China) if they want to come to Taiwan and attack us.”