For Ann Wang's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
The capital of Taipei has more than 4,600 such shelters that can accommodate some 12 million people, more than four times its population, in the event of a Chinese attack.
The drills, which simulate the repulsion of an invader, coincide with air-raid exercises across the island as it boosts combat preparedness in the face of rising Chinese military pressure.
Of the group of 31 who started the 10 week course, only 15 finished, with the closing week at the sprawling Zuoying navy base in southern Taiwan being the last test.
The exercises were part of a three-day drill to show Taiwan's battle readiness ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of this month.
Taiwan, where snow brushes only the highest mountaintops during the coldest winters, has never won a medal at the Winter Olympics.
At the height of the Cold War, Kinmen saw the last wartime battles between China and Taiwan. Now locals are encouraging tourism.
Farmers were hit hard by a heavy drought last year only to face torrential rain this year.
Taiwan has blamed China, which claims the island as its own territory, for nixing an original order from the German firm earlier this year.
Pressured by a labor crunch and rising wages in China, Shu Ke'an, whose company supplies bulletproof vests, rifle bags and other tactical gear to the United States, first considered shifting some production to Southeast Asia a few years ago, but nothing came of it. When ...
