Traffic controls are to be imposed and people on the streets would be required to enter shelters during the 30-minute Wanan air defense drills across Taiwan from Monday to Thursday next week.
The 47th annual Wanan exercises are to be held from 1:30pm to 2pm on Monday in central Taiwan and take place at the same time on Tuesday in northern Taiwan, on Wednesday in eastern Taiwan and outlying counties, and on Thursday in southern Taiwan, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said during a ministry meeting.
The ministry’s zoning system for the drills lists central Taiwan as comprising Taichung and Chiayi City, as well as Miaoli, Changhua, Nantou, Yunlin and Chiayi counties; northern Taiwan as comprising Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Hsinchu County, Hsinchu City and Yilan County; eastern and outlying areas covering Hualien, Taitung, Penghu, Kinmen and Lienchiang counties; and southern Taiwan covering Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County.
Photo: Su Chin-fong, Taipei Times
Following the 30-minute air-raid drills, local governments are to stage another 30 minutes of drills to test shelter operations, and check that utilities are working and supplies are sufficient, Liu said, adding that those drills would run from 2pm to 2:30pm.
The 22 local government administrations, except for Hsinchu and Chiayi cities, are to each select two administrative areas — townships, cities or districts — to assess how well the local governments guide people into air-raid shelters, the ministry said, adding that Hsinchu City and Chiayi City would each select one district.
Local governments would issue air-defense alerts, and use television, radio, police patrol car broadcasts and other broadcast systems, including at schools, to enhance coverage of the warning drills, the ministry said.
In addition, text message alerts would be sent to mobile devices, it said.
During the drills, drivers must immediately park and, along with pedestrians, follow police instructions to enter the nearest air-raid shelter, it said.
People who refuse to comply would face a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$150,000, the ministry added.
The first Wanan air-defense drill took place in 1978 to raise public awareness of the government’s emergency response measures, and reduce the likelihood of casualties and damage in case of an attack.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS