In camouflage, assault rifle in hand, “Prof” Yeh risks a look from behind a vehicle. He observes the surroundings and waits for the signal to advance. In real life, Yeh, 47, works in marketing. His weapon is a replica. But for a weekend, he enrolled in an urban guerrilla class to prepare for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a very real prospect he said. “The Russian-Ukrainian war is the big reason why I came to this workshop,” explains “Prof” – his “nom de guerre” during training – during a break between two sessions.
The democratic island lives under the permanent threat of communist China, which considers it part of its territory and has sworn to take it back one day. And the tension is only growing, as Chinese warplanes step up incursions into the island’s air defense identification zone. About 380 of these threatening aerial sorties have been reported, and the 1,000 mark could easily be crossed this year.
Like Ukraine against Russia, Taiwan has fewer men, fewer weapons, fewer vehicles than China. But according to a survey carried out in May, 61.4% of those questioned said they were ready to take up arms in the event of an invasion of the island. The Ukrainian resistance in the cities therefore has something to appeal to the inhabitants of this highly urbanized island.
