Amid China Tensions, Taiwanese Seek First Aid, Military Training

FILE - Tattoo artist, Su Chun holds an airsoft gun during a shooting lesson at the combat skill training company Polar Light, in New Taipei City, Taiwan, May 21, 2022.

TAIPEI, TAIWAN —
On a weekday afternoon in August, dozens of Taipei residents sit on the floor in a church basement, learning to pack wounds and apply bandages as part of a first aid course that has become more urgent as China intensifies its threats against Taiwan.

“With the situation in Taiwan at the moment, I think that sense of being ready [is] important," said Jean Hong, a 50-year-old who participated in the training.

Taiwanese residents are not panicking; many have witnessed China’s threats for decades. But a growing number of Taiwanese are also taking steps to prepare in case a war erupts.

“We are just overwhelmed by the demand,” said Enoch Wu, the founder of Forward Alliance, the nongovernmental organization which hosts about 15 of the first aid workshops sessions per month.

“We are facing a threat that we've never faced before,” Wu told VOA. “Right now, this is our best way to protect our hard-earned democracy while maintaining the peace.”

China has surrounded Taiwan with weeks of threatening military exercises following a solidarity visit earlier this month by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.