Late on an April weeknight, the mood in a basement office workshop in Taipei is surprisingly upbeat as participants take turns wrapping each other in homemade stretchers and learn how to pack a gunshot wound. The event, organised by non-governmental organisation Forward Alliance, is the first of a series of workshops designed to teach civilians the basics of trauma medicine and the skills to survive an emergency.
Violent crime is rare in Taiwan, but the subtropical island sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the Earth’s tectonic plates rub against each other, so it is regularly hit by earthquakes. With typhoons and the occasional flood or rockslide also part of the mix, learning what to expect and how to prepare is an essential skill for many Taiwanese.
But more recently, people have been thinking about Taiwan’s position in yet another hotspot – as the target of China’s ruling Communist Party.
In a conflict dating back to the 1940s, Beijing has promised to unify China and Taiwan, also known as the Republic of China, peacefully or by force; the two sides remain in a precarious status quo.
Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, however, has reminded many Taiwanese of the potential danger although it has been decades since the two sides squared off militarily.
“It’s not inspiration per se, but what happened in Ukraine kind of gave us an alert that we probably need to learn about what to do in an emergency,” Wei-lin Tseng, a Taipei-based professional, told Al Jazeera after the workshop. “I think it’s motivation, and it’s also good to know techniques, so you can help others.”
Tseng said he and his partner also recently prepared a “go-bag” of essential goods for themselves and their dog, inspired by the invasion of Ukraine and the catastrophic 2011 tsunami in Japan – another event that has had an outsized influence on Taiwan.
Civilian preparation
The goal of Forward Alliance’s workshops is to “empower” Taiwanese, said Jack Yu-tang Chang, secretary of the Taiwan Society of Paramedicine.
“We’re trying to teach our people to get more prepared and empower them to do this in their own community, so they don’t just wait for emergency services or government resources,” he said.
