The Presidential Office yesterday denied a foreign news report suggesting the government plans to use tens of thousands of convenience stores as “wartime hubs” in the event of a cross-strait war, saying it has no such specific plan.
The Guardian on Saturday reported that if domestic rail lines were shut down, airspace was closed to commercial traffic, and Internet and phone services were disrupted during a Chinese invasion, Taiwanese could seek help from local convenience stores.
“If all this happened, Taiwanese residents could walk to one of the island’s more than 13,000 convenience stores to pick up rations and medical supplies, delivered by the chains’ own logistical transport systems,” the report said, citing four unnamed sources familiar with discussions.
Photo: EPA-EFE
They could read government communications which have been faxed to the stores and displayed on the window. Or maybe they would be able to send a message using the store’s emergency hotspot,” it added.
The idea was being discussed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee, which aimed to make Taiwanese society more resilient in the event of an attack or natural disaster, the article said.
Responding to the report, Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) yesterday said the idea of turning civilian distributors into emergency hubs had been brought up by retail industry representatives during meetings of the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee.
Representatives shared how they supported the public after the 921 Earthquake, Kuo said.
Although that was useful information for the government, the administration has not begun making the type of plans mentioned in The Guardian report, she said, adding that the government already has a plan for setting up wartime stations to distribute strategic materials.
The committee has pledged to enhance Taiwan’s resilience by training civilian forces, securing strategic and critical supplies, reinforcing energy and key infrastructure, and ensuring the continued operations of medical, transportation, information and financial facilities. It has so far held three rounds of meetings, most recently on March 27 during a civil defense drill in Tainan.
The Guardian also said that they expect “Taiwan’s military and maybe police will be sent to frontlines, leaving civilian first responders in charge of care and control.”
Kuo also denied that, saying that police would not be sent to the frontlines and emphasizing that they would be responsible for maintaining social order and logistics, and safeguarding key infrastructure during wartime.
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