Breaking: Taipei Emerges as Asia’s New Tech Powerhouse — What It Means for Travelers and Investors

Taipei’s streets fell silent at 13:30 on 17 July as air-raid sirens heralded the capital’s largest Urban Resilience (Air-Defense) drill in decades, a centerpiece of the 2025 Han Kuang military exercises designed to rehearse responses to a potential Chinese invasion threat. For 30 minutes all vehicular traffic was ordered to a stand-still, metro trains paused between stations, and residents ducked into underground shelters, shopping-mall basements and temple courtyards. Failure to comply risked fines of up to NT$150,000, underscoring how seriously Taipei City Government is taking preparedness. Emergency crews simulated mass-casualty rescues, extracting “victims” from a bomb-damaged high-rise, triaging the wounded, and setting up mobile supply points. Helicopter teams rehearsed rapid refueling of Black Hawks and Apaches armed with Stinger and Hellfire missiles along the Keelung River to test rapid-deployment logistics. President William Lai, observing the drill alongside American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene, said the goal is to “prepare for war to avoid war,” stressing that civil-military coordination is now as critical as conventional firepower. More than 22,000 troops—50 percent more than last year—are involved nationwide. Why the sudden urgency? U.S. intelligence asserts that Beijing wants the capability to seize Taiwan by 2027, and PLA warplanes have crossed the island’s air-defense identification zone on an almost daily basis this year. While polls show over 60 percent of Taiwanese doubt an imminent invasion, officials believe visible readiness will deter escalation and strengthen public confidence. The Urban Resilience program expands beyond Taipei: Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung and other cities are staging identical half-hour lockdowns through 18 July, each accompanied by localized alerts and evacuation orders. Travelers should expect temporary road closures and brief metro suspensions during the exercises. Local businesses, from bubble-tea stalls to semiconductor plants, have built contingency protocols; many now keep emergency water tanks, satellite phones and power generators on-site. Tech-sector analysts say the drills showcase Taiwan’s determination to keep its globally vital chip supply chain resilient even under attack. With Han Kuang shifting its focus to urban defense, Taipei’s 2025 drills mark a turning point: civil society is no longer a spectator but an active participant in national security. Whether the sirens ever signal a real strike, the capital is working to ensure its 2.7 million residents know exactly where to go and what to do when the alarms sound again.