Yeah this is what I’m going for. Preference is always given to family.
In the UK, they said Ukrainians could come if they had family already in the UK, so it’s highly likely that in the event of a Chinese invasion, Taiwanese spouses of British citizens could enter the UK without issue. However, we are all fooling ourselves if we think there would be domestic flights out of the country during an invasion. We’d be lucky if there were even domestic airports left to fly out of.
Unlike Ukraine, foreigners can’t be bought out of Taiwan by their country’s embassy on buses. Any evacuation flights landing here by foreign countries could be considered involvement in the war, and with missiles flying around the sky, would you want to put your family on one anyway?
You would just get out on any plane or boat possible to anywhere except China. You’d have to move fast because airspace and travel would shut down very very quickly.
Airports would be in bits so I dont think folks would be getting out anytime soon.
Indeed, but my answer was more at the OPs concern about how to take his local family with him.
I think China realizes that if they didn’t allow flights to leave with foreign nationals that would cause a lot of blowback with countries that might otherwise look the other way. I think they’ll allow boats or limited flights out for the first week before they start bombing everything to oblivion.
So give away the element of surprise ? Wouldn’t bet on it. I don’t think this is going to happen within next two years anyway .
The nature of how they can invade eliminates any element of surprise. We’d probably have a three month window where we know they’re coming.
Oh yeah Iagree.
I think its impossible to hide. But they could build up over time and then suddenly launch strikes.
Yes, but even Russia, evil as they are, haven’t prevented trains and other fleeing Ukrainian evacuees from going to Poland and other neighboring countries (although now they’re making it harder). They’d probably allow a window for foreigners to leave I’m guessing.
Earlier today I was looking at footage of the bomb shelters in the Kyiv metro. And it did occur to me: “Uh oh, the MRT’s above ground out here in Danshui. Where should we go?!”
I’m not happy that my thoughts are even briefly going in that direction.
Well, it’d be like Ukraine: we’d have a window when we know they’re prepared to come, without being sure whether or not they actually will. I read this piece from the NYRB earlier today (probably paywalled); it was filed just six hours before the invasion began, and almost all the Ukrainians interviewed in the article insist there’s no way the Russians were actually going to do it. If it happens here, there will be a long stretch of (pretty logical) disbelief before anything actually happens, and we’ll mostly assume it’s a bluff / part of negotiations.
Or at least, we would have assumed that two weeks ago.
That’s when I say my “goodbye, farewell and amen” and leave for the west. I’m not rolling the dice after Ukraine.
Row, row, row the boat … to Japan?
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life was just a dream
Oh, I’m sure I can just get on a bus and hide in a cave with a bunch of other refugees. What could go wrong?
(I really should watch that episode. Totally know the plot, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen it.)
EDIT: Huh - the MASH 2-hour series finale is actually on Disney+ here. So is Altman’s movie. But none of the regular episodes of the show.
I’m re-watching LOST at the moment.
Yonaguni island is actually pretty close. Closer than China at least. Get to know some local fishermen.
Woo hoo! I’ve been vaguely hoping to take up windsurfing! Now I’ve got more motivation!
“OK coach, thanks for the basic lessons. Now how can I also get my wife and three cats on this thing?”
Ofc given current trajectories, chances are Japan will also be intimately involved in any Taiwan-China conflict.
Apparently there are many (capacity of more than 80 million people). Not sure about the quality though.
Looks like I just need to take the elevator er, stairs I guess. All these years I thought people were just piling up garbage down in the parking lot. Perhaps there was more planning than I realized.
Most of the garages and other underground spaces of both public and private buildings in Taiwan have been designated as a shelter in the event of a drill, a war, or another scenario where the Ministry of Defense has ordered an evacuation.
EDIT: also including the source for clarity, from @Whatevah’s post directly above mine:
Most underground garages are designated shelters.