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22 August 2026 (Saturday)
By Wendell Minnick (Whiskey Mike) 顏文德 and Ross Feingold (方恩格) (@RossFeingold)
TAIPEI – It’s all a facade. I’ve long stumbled upon these displays around Taipei and finally decided to call them on the bullshit.
Why be a bully? Because it’s a lie. I can’t stand it when the international media reports these air defense exercises as if they are genuine. They are not, but here’s the official line:
“The 2026 Urban Resilience (Air Defense) Exercises used an “early warning with different areas and timings” approach. They ran regionally from August 7 and August 10–13, with each region holding a 30-minute drill. Activities included air-raid alarm transmission, evacuation and sheltering, traffic control, and disaster rescue. For the first time, the National Communications Commission simulated mobile network disruptions (throttling 4G/5G data speeds) in central and northern regions to practice operating under degraded communications. Fixed-line internet and Wi-Fi were unaffected. Non-compliance could result in fines of NT$30,000–150,000.” - Taiwan’s All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency under the Ministry of National Defense (MND).
These posters plastered around Taiwan are actually cheap 8x10 paper sheets run off a printer. Nothing fancy. Nothing permanent. The one in this example is already falling apart. And where the hell is the actual bomb shelter? The poster gives almost nothing to go on. And why would it? It’ll be peeled away by the rain by mid September.
Ross Feingold (方恩格) (@RossFeingold) provided additional background on the air raid shelter decals:
In 2022, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) issued a new, 256 page plan which loosely translates as “Resilient Taiwan: Large-Scale Typhoon and Earthquake Disaster Preparedness and Collaboration Program” (強韌臺灣大規模風災震災整備與協作計畫).
The goals of this program included strengthening disaster preparedness including the legacy program to identify emergency shelters.
The MOI has broad civil defense responsibilities; the National Police Agency (NPA) and National Fire Agency (NFA) are subordinate agencies. In addition, the MOI has regulatory responsibilities over land use and construction, with local governments also having significant regulatory responsibilities in this regard too.
The NFA maintains a detailed website about the program.
Signage (decals) on the outside of buildings indicating that the building can serve as an air raid shelter is a long time requirement in Taiwan. From 2023, the MOI implemented an update to the decal.
The old decal was yellowish and indicated a serial number, the number of persons (total, internal, external), and the name of the municipal police department that issued it.
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