07/19/2025
Sirens wailed, roads emptied and people were ordered to stay indoors in Taipei on Thursday, July 17, during an annual air-raid exercise in the event of a Chinese missile attack.
Sirens sounded at 1:30 p.m. with mandatory street evacuation, effectively shutting towns and cities across northern Taiwan for 30 minutes.
The annual civilian drill is being held in cities across Taiwan this week, alongside the 10-day Han Kuang military exercises, to prepare the self-ruled island for a potential Chinese invasion.
The drills come as regional tensions between Taiwan and China are increasing.
Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te warned that “threats from authoritarianism have never stopped," in a reference to China.
"No matter it be literary attack and military intimidation, or internal infiltration and political warfare, all of these happen on a daily basis. Under such circumstances, we can only be prepared, we don’t have other options," Lai added.
With reporting by Reuters, AFP and AP