For the record, it’s that time of the year again. Don’t let the sirens catch you in an inconvenient place!
[quote]The air raid exercises are scheduled to be staged on May 19 from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. in Matsu;, on June 23 from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. in Kinmen; and on June 30 from 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. in northern Taiwan (including Yilan County, Keelung City, Taipei city and county, Taoyuan County, and Hsinchu city and county).
They will be held on July 22 from 3: 30 p.m. to 4 p.m. in central Taiwan (Miaoli County, Taichung city and county, Nantou County, Changhua County, Yunlin County and Chiayi County); on July 24 from 9: 30 a.m. to 10 a.m. in eastern Taiwan (Hualien and Taitung counties) ; on July 28 from 2 p.m. to 2: 30 p.m. in Penghu County; and on August 14 from 1: 30 p.m. to 2 p.m. in southern Taiwan (Tainan city and county, Kaohsiung city and county and Pingtung County).
I got caught out last year. Hot, sunny day, at the very end of a 40km bike ride through the hills - I got made to stop less than 300m from my apartment building. A friendly policeman bought me a cold bottle of water though.
You are supposed to remain indoors -some places take you to the basement, too- for the duration of the military exercise. (There are hefty fines and sour faced policemen to aid in your compliance.)
As to the rest of the arguments, they have been explored ad nauseum previously. Please note logic is a cultural constraint.
[quote]During the drill, all vehicles are required to halt motion. Cars running on main streets are required to pull over or turn onto a non-main street and stop immediately, said the municipal officials.
Cars are not allowed to drive into the city during the exercise.
Taiwan Railway, Taiwan High Speed Rail and the MRT will run as usual, but passengers getting off will have to take directions from police to evacuate and seek cover, added the municipal officials.
During the 30 minutes exercise, people in all public and private buildings should abide by the regulation to close windows and shut off all electrical equipments.
During the [color=#FF0000]30 minutes[/color] exercise, people in all public and private buildings should abide by the regulation to [color=#FF0000]close windows[/color] and [color=#FF0000]shut off all electrical equipments.[/color]
Correct me if I’m wrong, but hasn’t this year’s drill staring a little early? I recall in previous years that it started around 1:45, which was plenty of time to negotiate the back roads on my way back to work after lunch.
A bit more warnings on the situation fregarding transportation during the air raid, watch out those in the HSR:
[quote]Shuttle bus shifts will be either postponed or cancelled during the Wan-An drill, which will take place on June 30, the Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) announced yesterday. The policy is effective in Taoyuan and Hsinchu station.
The ticketing service and scheduled shifts will run unaffected except the shuttle bus that connects passengers from train stations to downtown areas will be either cancelled or delayed due to the traffic regulations during the drill, added THSR.
The entrances and exits of the station will be open for the passengers as usual.
[quote=“Icon”]Don’t let the sirens catch you in an inconvenient place!
[/quote] Like the back of a Volkswagen?
…Wish I’d paid attention to this thread earlier - should have gone to get lunch earlier! Sooo hungry >;( Thanks for the heads-up though, even for those too lazy to pay attention
Almost forgot it! Luckily our building security staff announced it will be 10 minutes before I was about to leave home.
Funny to see some people here driving out of our lane on their scooters, carefully checking, then turning back.
Unfortunately I don’t live at a cross road to photograph some action. Maybe I try the roof next time.
Damn! I had to actually bang on the doors of the 7-11 to get my post-prandial Kirin! The sheer unmitigated affrontery!
The policeman danced and blew his whistle – a bit like Michael Jackson, except he wasn’t masturbating any children that I could see – but I just smiled benevolently and went on my merry way, Kirin popped and in hand, mildly amused by the three obasans berating the poor guy at the tops of their voices for having the blatant cheek to attempt to disrupt their day. (The policeman lost ignominiously and the obasans continued their constitutional, no doubt with a whole half-hour’s worth of conversation material to brighten their day.)
I spent the half hour chatting with these tall, masculine, well shaved, square jawed, handsome police oficers who did not allow me to go to the roof to take pictures.
Doesn’t matter, because they were witty and nice and polite and did I mention tall and handsome? :lovestruck:
:eh:
