FEATURE/Packing for emergencies: 'Go bags' gaining steam amid rising war fears

By Sunny Lai, CNA staff reporter

Go bags filled with essentials for surviving wartime scenarios or natural disasters have soared in popularity in Taiwan recently amid American warnings to prepare them and rising fears of future military conflict.

CNA spoke to individuals connected to the trend to explore the factors behind the growing public interest -- and how people are getting ready.

What sparked the trend?

On June 11, the Kaohsiung Branch of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) posted a message on preparing go bags on Facebook, calling them "super important to stay prepared for any emergency" and urging people to "pack your own Go Bag and be ready for anything."

The post sparked widespread discussion in Taiwan, with Google Trends showing that interest in the Chinese term for "go bag" (避難包) surged from an 8 on June 10 to a peak of 100 on June 13 -- the highest level of relative search popularity from June 1 to July 4.

That has since fallen to around 25-30, with a brief rebound to 51 on June 29.

Bonny Lu (盧秉慧), CEO of SafeTaiwan, which sells go bags online, told CNA that overall sales doubled on June 11 compared to the previous day, then jumped to eight times the June 10 level on June 12.

"Sales were already higher in April and May, but things definitely picked up again starting that day [June 11]," Lu said, adding that sales in the first half of 2025 were five times higher than in the second half of 2024.

Among the customers she had spoken to over the past two months, the top reason for preparing go bags was concern about "war."

Voices behind the bags

Among those preparing was Arnas Kuo (a pseudonym), who chose to assemble a go bag tailored to her own needs.

Kuo said her decision was influenced by repeated warnings from top U.S. officials in May and June of China's intensive preparations for an invasion of Taiwan.

"If it's just once, whatever -- Taiwan is often warned about war," said Kuo, an environmental professional in her early 30s. "But when they said it twice in a row, it felt serious. That's when I thought I should take a serious look at my go bag."

Kuo said the AIT post felt like "adding another weight to the scale," prompting her to finally commit to seriously preparing a go bag.

In the same vein, schoolteacher Amy Chang said that while the AIT post "did have some influence," a bigger factor was what she has observed since late May.

"Tensions across the Strait have been high lately, and with China's military drills growing in scale alongside political turmoil in Taiwan, it really feels like we're facing threats both from within and without," said Chang, in her late 30s.

"In this environment, the surge of go bag posts made me feel it was time to start preparing," Chang said.

Analyzing the trend

While an unnamed U.S. State Department spokesperson told CNA on June 18 that the AIT post was simply a reminder to prepare for natural disasters, an expert in disaster thinking said the message resonated widely due to rising public awareness of war-related risks.

"More and more people believe a war could break out within the next two years," said Lin Thung-hong (林宗弘), a research fellow at Academia Sinica's Institute of Sociology, citing recent survey findings.

Asked about risk perception differences between natural disasters and war, Lin noted that earthquakes -- one of Taiwan's most significant natural threats -- mostly strike the east and south.

In contract, Taiwan's political and economic centers are in the north and west, where the population and key infrastructure are concentrated, and they would be the primary targets in a conflict, Lin said.

"As a result, the need for go bags and other emergency preparations has become a nationwide concern," he said.

Despite long-standing government promotion of go bags, Lin said the idea "never sparked a widespread trend," but the recent surge "clearly reflects a heightened sense of awareness across civil society."

Ready to go

Regarding what should go into a go bag, Lu said that while the government recommends packing enough for three days, many people may find it difficult to carry that much.

Prioritizing is critical, she said, recommending "essential" items that "would severely impact daily life or even survival if missing," including clothing, drinking water, food, personal medications, and a light source.

A go bag for a war instead of an earthquake might also include items used for long-distance walks, in case of an evacuation, and even water filtration devices, she suggested.

Having gathered some emergency supplies in the past, Kuo said she began taking the process more seriously recently, such as making a checklist and filling in the gaps to complete her go bag.

Living alone in Taipei, Kuo said she planned to shelter in place, with supplies available that could last three days to a week.

If her building were damaged, Kuo said she would head to the nearest air-raid shelter with her go bag, packed with enough supplies to sustain her for three days, including high-calorie snacks and a water filter.

"Taiwan's government is very efficient ... So if we're at a designated shelter, I estimate we'd only need to hold out until the third day," she said. "By then, supplies will likely start arriving."

Planning for the long haul

Living in a multi-story house in Taoyuan near several air-raid shelters, Chang considered sheltering in place the best option for her family of three, and she planned to restock emergency supplies during the summer break.

Chang said she planned to stock two to three months' worth of food and water.

"Taiwan is an island country. We don't really have the means to fight a prolonged war," Chang said.

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