TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Deputy Minister of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said Wednesday that an urban resilience exercise will be carried out from July 15-18.

During a radio interview with Wang Shih-chi (王時齊), who hosts the Yahoo TV program “Qi You Ci Li,” Ma said Taiwan’s National Land Administration and National Police Agency began auditing basement and other air raid shelter spaces two years ago and have since placed signage to mark their location. 

What’s new this year, he added, is that any building bearing the air raid shelter sign must open its doors to the public under the Civil Defense Act when the air raid siren sounds.

Underground parking lots in residential buildings, schools, and parks qualify as shelters, Ma said.

The deputy ministry pointed out that supplies like traffic cones and caution tape are not currently available nationwide. As part of the government’s response to global security challenges, the Cabinet has proposed a NT$410 billion (US$14.05 billion) act to enhance economic, social, and national security resilience.

This includes NT$4.25 billion to help over 7,000 villages establish disaster supply warehouses and build 368 disaster coordination centers across townships and districts, he said. It also includes funding to upgrade public air raid shelter facilities.

Ma clarified that the defense ministry excludes temples from being designated for ammunition storage in case of a conflict. Religious sites should remain neutral, he said. They may serve as temporary shelters, but the central government wants to avoid making them targets for enemy attacks.

Taiwan kicked off the live-fire segment of the Han Kuang 41 exercise on Wednesday.