Taiwan carried out the final phase of its annual Han Kuang military exercises on Thursday, temporarily slowing mobile internet speeds to 256 Kbps in Taipei and six other cities and localities, and shutting metro station gates as part of air raid simulations aimed at modeling a response to a possible Chinese military invasion.
Taiwan conducts Han Kuang drills with internet slowdowns and metro shutdowns
Taiwan carried out the final phase of its annual Han Kuang military exercises on Thursday, temporarily slowing mobile internet speeds to 256 Kbps in Taipei and six other cities and localities, and shutting metro station gates as part of air raid simulations aimed at modeling a response to a possible Chinese military invasion.
Telecommunication operators reduced mobile web traffic to 256 Kbps for approximately 30 minutes, making it difficult for users to exchange anything beyond text messages. Under normal conditions, residents in major cities have access to 5G service.
President Lai Ching-te apologized to the public for the disruption, stating: 'We ask for your understanding and support, as this is a necessary drill.'
Taiwan has increased the scope and intensity of the Han Kuang drills in recent years, incorporating reservists and more civilians with a focus on real-world scenarios. According to the Taipei Times, integrating civilians and coordinating with local governments was a key feature of this year's exercises. Previously, urban resilience drills in Taipei attracted little attention because they caused no meaningful disruption — for instance, air raid drills at metro stations had not previously halted passenger flow.
At a Taipei metro station on Thursday afternoon, passengers waited while station gates were shut as part of the air raid simulation. Allen Hsieh, a tourist from Hong Kong who was held for 30 minutes before being released, said he found the exercise convincing. According to the Associated Press, he said: 'The exercise did not cause me any inconvenience. I know that Taiwan needs to conduct exercises, given the current situation. I can understand that. I did not expect it to be so real. I thought I would only receive text messages.'
According to the Associated Press, President Lai also visited a hospital that was simulating the relocation of its critical operations to underground facilities as part of the drills.
The Associated Press reports that Taiwan is expanding its defense exercises and procurement in response to heightened tensions with China, which claims the island as its own territory. Between Wednesday and Thursday morning, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said 18 Chinese warplanes and 11 navy ships operated in the waters around Taiwan. China sends military planes, Coast Guard ships, and other vessels toward Taiwan on a daily basis and periodically conducts large-scale military exercises.
- The sources do not provide a full account of the earlier phases of the Han Kuang exercises that began the previous week.
- No comment or response from China regarding the drills is included in either source.
- The sources do not specify which six cities and localities beyond Taipei were affected by the internet slowdown.
- No details are provided about the scale of reservist or civilian participation in numerical terms.
- The sources do not state how long the metro gate shutdown lasted in total or whether it differed from the internet slowdown duration.
- NPR News — original
- Associated Press — by Johnson Lai