Zhang Houguang: Taiwan’s air defense evacuation needs to be upgraded from “having a place to hide” to “you won’t be suffocated if you go in”

◎ Zhang Houguang

The annual Hanguang exercise reminds us: modern warfare is not the armaments PK in Hollywood movies. When missiles strike and power and communications are cut off, what really determines whether the country can survive is whether ordinary people like us can find a life-saving hole in an instant, and there is still water and electricity under the ground to continue to "sustain life."

When it comes to air raid shelters, don’t fall into the quantitative myth of whether Taiwan has enough air raid shelters. According to statistics from the Police Department, there are more than 82,000 shelters in Taiwan, which can accommodate 54 million people. The number sounds reassuring, but here comes the question: After the alarm sounds, how many minutes will it take for you to get in? After entering, is it a living space, or is it a natural oven with no electricity or wind?

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According to statistics from the Police Department, there are more than 82,000 shelters in Taiwan, which can accommodate 54 million people. Schematic diagram. (File photo) Let’s see how it is played abroad. There are 370,000 protective shelters in Switzerland. Residents use them as wine cellars, gyms and even training rooms during normal times, and they can be transformed into shelters during wartime. Singapore is even more unique, directly transforming MRT stations and schools into defense systems. The implications for Taiwan are straightforward: shelters should not be cold basements that are usually filled with clutter and where you have to play "escape rooms to find keys" during wartime, but urban spaces that serve the public in normal times.

The good news is that Taiwan has figured it out. The Ministry of Interior recently revised the "Technical Regulations on Buildings" to increase the refuge area per person from ○. The 75-meter limit was increased to one square meter, and smoke shielding and concrete thickening were added, and ventilation, lighting and emergency sockets were mandated. This means that we have finally advanced from "just have a place to hide" to a new stage of "you won't be suffocated if you go in".

But to make this system work to its full potential, it is recommended that Taiwan go straight to the "three-state conversion" community micro-node:

1. Daily "flow": the underground parking lot is full of cars, the MRT station is full of people, and the community activity center is performing folk dances. Daily life is uninterrupted.

2. "Response" during disasters: In the event of strong earthquakes, typhoons, and power outages, community shelter centers can be set up instantly to distribute water, food, and provide first aid.

3. Wartime "takeover": When the alarm goes off, the management unit activates backup power and independent communications according to SOP, instantly transforming the community into a "miniature survival fortress."

The MRT station is usually full of people, but when the alarm goes off during wartime, the management unit activates backup power and independent communications according to the SOP, instantly transforming it into a "miniature survival fortress" for the community. (File photo) With this concept, we can also promote the "Five-Minute Evacuation Time Map"**. Don't expect to be able to open an app to find directions during the war. What the people need is a reflex action like "going downstairs to buy a supermarket." It is most concrete to divide the city into "air defense five-minute life zones" that do not have to cross dangerous roads.

If microgrids can be maintained for a few more hours and small communications can be maintained for a few more days, the enemy's psychological paralysis war will be declared bankrupt. We are not trying to turn Taiwan into an underground fortress, but to equip the city with the survival gene of "one-click conversion."

National defense construction can serve the people in peacetime and protect lives in times of crisis. Let the underground space "buy time" for Taiwan, and we will be able to stand steadier than anyone else in the wind and rain!

(The author works for Hanxiang Airlines)