Convenience stores to play key role during Taiwan-China conflict

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Convenience store chains could play a key role in helping civilians in Taiwan during a conflict with China, British newspaper The Guardian reported Saturday. As China has been stepping up military drills in the skies and waters around Taiwan, President Lai Ching-te created a Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee involved in the launch of field exercises . In the event of a Chinese blockade or attack, the convenience store chains could supply their 13,000 outlets with food rations and medical supplies for civilians, The Guardian reported. They managed their own logistical transport systems able to move goods around the country. Another function would be to post government fax messages on the windows when communication networks were paralyzed. The stores’ emergency hotspots could be useful to send out messages, the report said. Recent exercises revealed a number of weaknesses in the previous approach. There was a lack of consideration for the possibility that during a conflict, police might be unavailable to distribute emergency food supplies. The absence of internet and other modern communication systems was also highly likely, while a Chinese blockade would affect the import and production of energy necessary for everything from transportation to hospitals, according to The Guardian. The report noted that the convenience stores already played an important part in the distribution of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, an experience which might come in handy during other types of emergency.