
Air Force Patriot missile systems are deployed at a local park during Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang military exercise in Taipei on July 11, 2025. I-Hwa Cheng/AFP via Getty Images
Taiwan will begin distributing millions of civil defense handbooks to all households this week, offering updated instructions on how to prepare for a range of emergencies, including, for the first time, what to do in the event of a war with communist China.
“From natural disasters, pandemics, and extreme weather to the threat of Chinese aggression, the challenges we face have never ceased,” Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te wrote in the introduction to the handbook, “In Case of Crisis: Taiwan’s National Public Safety Guide.”

