Tainan: The first-ever field exercise organized under the Presidential Office’s civil defense committee was held in Tainan on Thursday, with around 1,500 people from the public and private sectors participating in an emergency rescue and response operation. The drill was carried out based on a scenario in which an explosion occurs near the tourist service center at Anping Harbor, with an estimated 200 casualties at the scene.
According to Focus Taiwan, the drill was meant to test central and local government emergency response capabilities, such as large-scale evacuations, sheltering, and treating the injured. Around 1,500 civilians were mobilized, including police forces, a special team from Anping Harbor, volunteer police under local police stations and fire departments, charity group members, and businesses, to work alongside alternative service conscripts in the operation.
The drill was conducted without the participation of Taiwan’s armed forces, but military field hospital equipment was used on site as part of the emergency medical facilities. Speaking after inspecting the operation, President Lai Ching-te emphasized the importance of making preparations and building up Taiwan’s resilience for natural disasters, major accidents, and “changes to geopolitical situations.”
Lai was joined in the inspection by Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, Director of the American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) Taipei Main Office Raymond Greene, as well as other Taiwanese officials. The goal is to ensure Taiwan’s security and achieve peace through demonstrating not just military but also civil defense capabilities, he said.