In an office building on a nondescript side street in Taipei, an emergency is on the agenda for this summer's day.
Outside, the Taiwanese capital is bustling with street vendors and food stalls. Inside, the focus is on warfare, propaganda and first aid. Forty mostly young people are gathered at the Kuma Academy on a Saturday — the majority of them women.
"The main reason I participated is to learn about the current state of Taiwan's defence," says 27-year-old Su.
The democratic island nation, with over 23 million inhabitants, is separated from China by the Taiwan Strait, which is around 130 kilometres wide at its narrowest point.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory and seeks to bring the island under its control, despite Taiwan having an independently elected government, decades in place.
But China points to World War II, after which Taiwan was awarded to the Republic of China. However, a civil war broke out between the communists and the supporters of the Chinese Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang (KMT).
When the nationalists lost, they fled to Taiwan and continued to rule there as the Republic of China.
That same year, 1949, revolutionary leader Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China in Beijing. Ever since, Beijing has repeatedly threatened to "reunite" Taiwan with the mainland, including through military means if peaceful efforts fail.
Training for war awareness
"The academy is more about creating awareness of a possible war," says co-founder Shen Po-yang, also known as Puma Shen. People should be prepared in case China begins its invasion of Taiwan and should not fall into panic, he says.
In his view, the optimal period for an attack from Beijing's perspective could be between 2025 and 2027, or when more than half of the Taiwanese population might surrender.
But if enough people gain knowledge from the academy's courses, they could protect themselves and others, says Shen, a member of the defence committee of the parliament for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Some 40,000 ordinary people have completed the training since October 2022, the academy says. Participants range in age from teenagers to army veterans, with almost two thirds of them being women.
Women like Su tend to be more interested in the course because men in Taiwan have already served in the army through compulsory military service, so are familiar with the subject, Su says.
Academy spokesperson Aaron Huang also points out that men are more often employed in public services, such as firefighting or disaster relief after earthquakes, so have gathered relevant experience.
The first lesson: invasion
The "Training for Civil Defence" programme begins with grey zone tactics, which are already known to the people of Taiwan. They experience them almost daily when fighter jets of the Chinese People's Liberation Army cross the unofficial median line in the Taiwan Strait and enter Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) — not to be confused with airspace.
The lecturer also walks people through what an invasion might look like. Again, locals had a foretaste of this in May, when the Chinese navy, air force, and army rehearsed a blockade around Taiwan and smaller islands close to China.
China could seek to cut off escape routes from Taiwan and block external aid to the island. The leadership ordered the exercise as punishment after Taiwan's new president, Lai Ching-te, took office and, from Beijing's perspective, clearly stated his intentions for independence in a speech.
Beijing sees Lai and his independence-leaning DPP as separatists, despite Taipei having never officially declared independence. The stance has led to many countries into major diplomatic disputes with Beijing.
Only a few states officially recognize Taiwan. Even the United States, Taiwan's closest ally, is not among them, though Washington has promised support in the event that Taiwan must defend itself.
Lai himself recently pointed to the methods China uses to compel Taiwan into submission. "However, we will not yield. The people of Taiwan will defend our sovereignty and maintain our way of life under democratic constitutional governance," he said.
Advice and war videos
At the academy, a lecturer discusses propaganda and online influence, particularly through social media. Even before the January elections, Taiwanese politicians accused China of using such tactics to shape public opinion. Ariel You, in her late twenties, values this advice as it helps her be more discerning about information online, she says.
Shen also emphasizes the need to enhance cybersecurity as China's hackers are highly skilled, he says. Domestically, the lawmaker underscores the importance of implementing regulations to oversee social media platforms like TikTok and to monitor Chinese financial transactions. He also highlights the need for legal authorization to address grey zone tactics as required.
Despite such serious topics, the mood in the seminar room is cheerful. "I learned bandaging techniques when I was little, but then I forgot about them," says You, particularly eager for the first aid segment. "If there is a war, what can we young people contribute to society?"
However, just before the hands-on practice begins, the paramedics bring the reality of war much closer to the participants through a video.
The footage shows a Ukrainian soldier who loses a leg when a mine explodes. He hurriedly applies his own tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
Some of the participants in the room gasp or cover their faces with the paper course materials to avoid seeing the gruesome scene.
Later, the participants practice applying tourniquets correctly, bandaging wounds, and carrying people who are hurt.
Su says she feels slightly reassured.
"I think with knowledge about these things, it’s easier to understand that it won't be so easy for China if they come to Taiwan and try to attack us."
