Taiwan Mails Civil Defense Handbook to 9.83 Million Households as Pressure From China Grows

Eleven million copies for a nationwide readiness push

Taiwan is beginning to mail a new civil defense handbook to about 9.83 million registered households, with deliveries targeted for completion by January 5. The Ministry of National Defense's All Out Defense Mobilization Agency printed about 11 million copies at a cost of NT$42.79 million, making this the largest public preparedness campaign since the handbook first appeared in 2022.

The 2025 edition brings together instructions for natural disasters and military emergencies. It explains how to find shelter, store supplies, respond if residents encounter enemy troops and obtain reliable information when communications fail. One of its strongest messages is that any announcement claiming Taiwan has surrendered is false.

The mailing begins this week, as of December 16, 2025, after months of heightened pressure from Beijing. Chinese fighter jets and warships regularly operate near Taiwan, while cyber intrusions and influence operations add pressure beyond conventional military activity. Taiwan also faces recurring typhoons, earthquakes and landslides, making household preparation relevant to emergencies far beyond armed conflict.

The defense ministry describes the handbook as a practical tool for preparation during peacetime, intended to help communities keep functioning through a crisis. Shen Wei chih, director of the All Out Defense Mobilization Agency, said the goal was a society that is better prepared and able to remain calm during sudden shocks.

The more prepared we are, the safer we will be.

The handbook avoids political rhetoric while setting out practical responses to common crisis tactics. Its advice covers both the supplies a family needs and the decisions residents may have to make quickly, including whether to leave an area, seek shelter or check a message before believing it.

How the handbook will reach homes

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications and Chunghwa Post are leading distribution in four phases. Offshore counties and remote areas come first, followed by urban centers, with the aim of reaching almost 9.83 million households by January 5.

The printing bill works out to roughly NT$3.89 per handbook. Funding came from the Cabinet Second Reserve Fund, and printing was arranged through a public bidding process. The defense ministry says the mailing responds to feedback following the edition's release in September, including requests from older residents who prefer a physical guide.

Some lawmakers have questioned the environmental footprint and the need to distribute paper copies. The ministry's response is that printed guides help people who have difficulty accessing digital information and remain available when electricity or cellular networks fail.

Hard copies will also go to selected embassies and foreign representative offices. Approximately 105,000 English copies are scheduled for distribution to foreign missions, media and residents starting December 19. Electronic editions are available in Mandarin and English, while additional distribution channels are being planned for more than 800,000 foreign workers.

The rollout follows several stages:

• 2022: Taiwan issued the first civil defense handbook.
• September 2025: The latest edition was released, followed by public feedback requesting physical copies.
• The week of December 16, 2025: Household deliveries begin in phases.
• December 19: Distribution of approximately 105,000 English copies is scheduled to start.
• January 5: The government aims to finish delivery to almost 9.83 million households.

The defense ministry has framed the campaign around readiness without panic, explaining its purpose in these words:

The aim is not to cause panic but to get people ready for crises, from earthquakes to conflict.

What households are asked to prepare

The handbook uses checklists and diagrams to make preparation easier to follow. It asks households to maintain at least one week of food, water, medicines and sanitation supplies, together with a way to power phones or radios. Keeping those essentials at home gives families resources to draw on when normal services are interrupted.

A separate bag, packed in advance and kept near the door, is intended for situations in which people must leave quickly. The suggested contents include water, food that can be eaten without cooking, copies of documents, cash, a flashlight, a compact sleeping bag, clothing and prescription medicines.

Household preparations also include a water plan, staples such as rice or noodles, a camping stove or power bank, and a radio powered by batteries or a hand crank. Families with infants, older relatives or pets are advised to adapt their supplies to those needs rather than rely on an identical kit for everyone.

The 2025 edition adds guidance on barrier lakes, a hazard highlighted by a deadly incident in Hualien County. These lakes can form after earthquakes when material blocks the flow of water. Their inclusion shows how the handbook combines risks from natural disasters with preparations for conflict.

The government plans a further campaign to help families assemble personal emergency kits and practice their plans. A schedule for that campaign and the additional channels intended to reach foreign workers has not been given.

Where to shelter during an attack

Residents facing an air raid are instructed to move into a basement or a designated shelter. When no shelter is available, the handbook advises staying low, avoiding exterior walls and windows, remaining behind two walls if possible, and covering the head and neck.

People caught outside are advised to lie flat with their feet pointing toward the blast and keep their mouths slightly open to reduce pressure injuries. These instructions give residents specific actions for moments when reaching a building or designated shelter may be impossible.

The guide also addresses encounters with armed actors and military activity nearby. Civilians should leave the area quickly when it is safe to move, or shelter in place when moving would expose them to danger.

Taiwan's armed forces feature in another warning: residents should not film, post or broadcast their movements live. Sharing troop locations can compromise military operations. The same caution applies when people are trying to understand what is happening around them during an emergency.

Families are encouraged to identify their nearest shelter before a crisis and walk the route to it. Preparation at home is meant to support decisions outside the home as well, particularly when familiar roads or communications are disrupted.

Preparing for disruption before an invasion

The handbook describes a range of emergencies, from disruption short of invasion to large scale conflict. Its scenarios include sabotage of undersea internet cables, cyberattacks on services, enemy drone flights and unilateral declarations of zones near Taiwan where aircraft or ships are told not to enter.

Other scenarios involve hostile forces inspecting or boarding ships registered in Taiwan, blockades restricting trade, direct attacks on infrastructure and ground operations. The booklet places more attention on blockades, cyberattacks and inspections at sea than on a direct invasion.

Undersea cables receive particular attention because they connect Taiwan to global networks. These cables lie on the seabed and carry internet data. Damage can interrupt banking, logistics and emergency communications, creating problems for households and businesses even without fighting on land.

Taiwanese officials describe the continuing pressure as gray zone activity: coercive actions that operate short of outright war. A D day style assault has not occurred, but military sorties, cyber intrusions and influence campaigns are already part of daily pressure on the island.

Lin Fei fan, Deputy Secretary General of the National Security Council, has been a public face of the handbook's rollout. He describes civil preparation as a way to discourage aggression by making Taiwan more capable of withstanding disruption.

People across the strait should understand there will be a huge cost if China makes the wrong decision. We are already facing hybrid warfare. The handbook shows our determination to defend ourselves.

Hybrid warfare, as described in the campaign, combines military pressure with cyber intrusions and efforts to influence what people believe. The handbook connects those threats to everyday decisions about communications, digital security and the information residents share.

Finding reliable information when networks fail

The handbook directs residents to use radio, landlines and community bulletin boards if internet connections are disrupted. Police stations and local government offices are also identified as places to seek updates. Having several ways to obtain information matters when a phone or a familiar messaging service stops working.

The warning about surrender announcements forms part of the guide's advice on resisting disinformation. Residents are told to treat circulating messages claiming Taiwan has surrendered as false and to verify information through official channels.

Social and messaging apps connected to China are another concern. The handbook cautions that they could expose users to data capture or targeted disinformation. Its recommendations include limiting app permissions, keeping devices updated and being cautious when an app requests broad access to contacts or cameras.

The newer chapter on cognitive warfare addresses attempts to shape people's understanding of events. In a crisis, messages designed to confuse or frighten residents can affect their decisions, so the guide combines information checks with practical routes to official updates.

Paper copies support this approach by keeping basic instructions accessible without a working network. The ministry's argument for mailing the booklet therefore connects two concerns: access for residents who prefer print and continued access when digital services fail.

Beijing's criticism and regional concerns

China's Taiwan Affairs Office has criticized the booklet, describing it as full of lies and distortions. It accuses Taipei of trying to intimidate the public and spread fear of war. Chinese forces continue to stage joint combat readiness patrols near the island, a pattern Taipei monitors several times a month.

Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out using force. Taipei rejects that position and says only Taiwan's people can decide their future. Those opposing positions form the political setting for a campaign that Taiwan's government presents as practical preparation.

Japan is also debating how it would respond to a conflict involving Taiwan. The United States maintains close, unofficial ties with Taipei and says peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are vital to regional security and commerce.

Taiwan's leaders argue that steady civil preparation strengthens deterrence and reduces the risk of miscalculation. Deterrence means discouraging an attack by making its likely costs harder for an aggressor to accept. In this campaign, household and community readiness form part of that effort.

President Lai Ching te has urged citizens to prepare before a crisis, pointing to recurring natural disasters and the danger of aggression from China. He linked public safety to both readiness and the willingness to defend Taiwan.

Our safety rests on our will and readiness to defend ourselves before a crisis occurs.

Lessons from Ukraine and Northern Europe

Taiwan's updated handbook draws practical lessons from Ukraine's defense and from European countries that have renewed civil preparedness programs. Finland and Sweden have public guides encouraging people to help themselves and one another during conflict.

Taiwan is adapting similar practices to an island with densely populated urban areas and limited strategic depth. That means preparation must account for an island setting and the limited space available to absorb disruption or move away from danger.

The All Out Defense Mobilization Agency has released three editions since 2022. The handbook has become easier to use through illustrations, plain language and checklists, while the newer material on cognitive warfare adds guidance on spotting and resisting disinformation.

International cooperation is expanding through the Global Cooperation and Training Framework and relationships with partners in Northern and Baltic Europe. Exchanges focus on crisis communications, protecting critical infrastructure and keeping local services running when supply chains are under strain.

Those areas connect directly to the handbook's domestic advice. Residents need reliable updates, essential services need protection, and communities need ways to continue operating when supplies or normal communications are interrupted.

Gaps between a guide and local readiness

Shelter access differs between cities and neighborhoods, making local conditions an important part of preparation. Critical infrastructure also remains exposed to sabotage, drones and strikes from long distances. The recommended week of household supplies may be insufficient during a prolonged emergency.

Turning written plans into local action presents further difficulties. Coordination between government agencies, political competition and polarized debate can slow drills and communications. Trust matters because residents must be willing to accept alerts and guidance when stress is high.

Critics want clearer instructions for urban fighting and extended power outages, given the handbook's greater attention to blockades, cyberattacks and inspections at sea. Officials say continuing updates will address changing risks and that communities can add local plans to the national guide.

The campaign's practical test is how preparation reaches neighborhoods with different needs and resources. A household may know the recommended supplies yet still need to establish where its members will meet, which shelter they can reach and how they will receive updates.

Putting the handbook into practice at home

Families can begin by locating their nearest shelter, identifying at least three meeting points and memorizing contact numbers. A bag for leaving quickly should stay packed, with its contents refreshed as needed, rather than be assembled only after an alert.

Parents are encouraged to talk through the guide with children, answer questions honestly and choose calming activities to reduce stress. Limiting news exposure when it becomes overwhelming and holding short practice drills can help make the steps familiar.

People caring for infants, older relatives or pets need to consider special requirements when preparing food, water, medicines and other essentials. The handbook's checklists provide a starting point, while each family needs a plan that matches the people it is responsible for.

During military activity, the immediate instructions are to move away if that is safe or shelter in place if it is not. Residents should avoid filming or sharing troop movements. When the internet is unavailable, they should turn to radio and seek updates through police stations or government offices.

The mailing puts the same basic guidance into millions of homes. Taiwan's next planned step is to help families assemble kits and rehearse their responses, connecting the printed instructions to actions people can take before an earthquake, a communications failure or a conflict.

Key Points

• Taiwan is mailing its 2025 civil defense handbook to about 9.83 million households, aiming to finish by January 5.
• About 11 million copies cost NT$42.79 million to print, roughly NT$3.89 each.
• Chunghwa Post will deliver the guide in four phases, beginning with offshore counties and remote areas.
• Approximately 105,000 English copies are scheduled for distribution from December 19. Digital editions are available in Mandarin and English.
• The handbook recommends at least one week of household supplies, a packed emergency bag and advance planning for shelters and meeting points.
• Its scenarios include cable sabotage, cyberattacks, drone flights, shipping inspections, blockades, infrastructure attacks and ground operations.
• Residents are warned against sharing troop movements and told that any announcement of Taiwan's surrender is false.
• China's Taiwan Affairs Office has condemned the booklet, while Taiwan's leaders describe civil preparation as part of deterrence.
• The guide draws lessons from Ukraine, Finland and Sweden. Shelter access, infrastructure protection and preparation for prolonged emergencies remain concerns.