Large-scale civil defense drill staged in Nantou County

Taipei, April 28 (CNA) The Formosa Republican Association (FRA), an NGO, held a series of large-scale civil defense exercises in Nantou County over the weekend, with some 100 participants practicing essential skills, in an effort to build grassroots resiliency against war and natural disasters.

More than 10 civil defense groups from around Taiwan joined the two-day drills at the National Fire Agency's Training Center in the central Taiwan county.

On Saturday, the first day of the civil defense drills, the participants were divided into different groups, based on their specialties, to deal with scenarios that required them to provide care to personnel injured in battles, move injured civilians to safety, and deal with hecklers, among other actions.

Under the control of a command center, the groups coordinated their actions in response to the situations but appeared flustered at first.

After a break, the participants reviewed the drills they had already enacted, and they discussed how to make improvements. They were subsequently more composed and surefooted in handling tasks such as transporting and sheltering the injured in a later drill.

The second day began with drills to transport injured soldiers from a battlefield to a medical station behind the frontlines.

In another scenario, the participants searched for and rescued semi-conscious or injured people trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building after a missile strike, and took the injured to shelters or emergency medical stations. The participants also tested their ability to manage a busy medical station swamped with injured people.

Deputy Interior Minister Maa Shyh-yuan (馬士元), NFA head Hsiao Huan-chang (蕭煥章), members of the Presidential Office's Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee, and several retired generals from Taiwan's military observed the drills.

In Maa's remarks at the event, he said the participants were all members of private-sector civil defense groups, which was an indication of the people's determination to resist external threats against Taiwan's military, freedom and democracy.

He expressed the hope of seeing increased public participation in such activities, which he said would help build greater resilience in society.

FRA Chairman Jason Chen (陳彥升), also spoke at the event, saying that the threats posed by China were growing.

Civilians should serve as a backup for the armed forces in the event of a war and during natural disasters, so that the country can better channel its strengths, Chen said.

The FRA, an NGO that promotes political conservatism and upholding national security, organized the event in the hope of preparing civil society for times when its strength might be needed, Chen said, adding that the FRA is planning to hold more drills across Taiwan.

On Sunday, Lucy Liu (劉玉皙), a member of the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee, gave a briefing to staff members from the Japanese, Canadian, and Dutch representative offices in Taiwan, who were observing the drills.

Liu said there were around 20 civil defense groups around Taiwan -- not including the Kuma Academy and the Forward Alliance -- that offer training in fitness, combat, shelter management, first aid, and drone operation.

Chen Jung-pin (陳榮彬), a member of a New Taipei-based civil defense group, told CNA that he found the after-action review to be particularly useful, as it gave the participants an opportunity to figure out ways of improving their approach.

He also said that a joint exercise involving different groups allowed them to network and learn about each other's resources, so they could collaborate instead of "going it alone."

Yu Tsung-chi (余宗基), a retired Army major general and special consultant for FRA, said that Taiwan's Armed Forces are training to rapidly take defensive positions in the event that the Chinese People's Liberation Army switches from an exercise to a surprise attack.

In such a scenario, the joint civil defense drills would also shorten civilian response time and streamline the necessary actions, Yu said.