People shelter inside a building as police officers stand guard at the entrance during an air raid drill in Taipei on August 13, 2026 . [AFP]
Millions of people in Taiwan were forced indoors and mobile internet speeds slowed for 30 minutes on Thursday during a simulation of a Chinese attack on the island democracy.
The drill was part of Taiwan's annual "Han Kuang" military exercise that aims to prepare the island of 23 million people for a potential Chinese invasion.
China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex it.
Loud sirens sounded across the capital Taipei at 2:30 pm (0630 GMT), sending people into underground carparks, subway stations, shopping malls and office buildings in the annual air raid drill.
Normally busy streets became eerily quiet as police directed traffic to pull over and waved people into shelters.
This year's drill also included a reduction in mobile internet speeds for the first time, briefly stifling access to messaging apps, video calls, live streams and food delivery services during hypothetical Chinese air attacks on communications infrastructure.