- Title: More in Taiwan seek gun training as Ukraine war drives home China threat
- Date: 1st June 2022
- Summary: NEW TAIPEI, TAIWAN (RECENT - MAY 21, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF AIRSOFT INSTRUCTOR ENGAGED IN LESSON TATTOO ARTIST AND AIRSOFT STUDENT, SU CHUN, SHOOTING AIRSOFT RIFLE SU WALKING TOWARDS TARGET WHILE SHOOTING AIRSOFT STUDENTS WALKING AND SHOOTING TAIPEI, TAIWAN (RECENT - MAY 28, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SU TATTOOING CLIENT TAIPEI, TAIWAN (MAY 31, 2022) (REUTERS) AIRSOFT RIFLE ON TATTOO BENCH SU TOUCHING BULLETPROOF VEST ON TATTOO BENCH VARIOUS OF SU ARRANGING AIRSOFT RIFLE (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 39-YEAR-OLD TATTOO ARTIST AND AIRSOFT STUDENT, SU CHUN, SAYING: “I started going to (airsoft) classes because of the (Ukraine) war, because I wanted to learn some combat skills including those that are not just limited to using a gun. Maybe skills to be able to react to any kind of situation.†NEW TAIPEI, TAIWAN (RECENT - MAY 21, 2022) (REUTERS) AIRSOFT STUDENTS WALKING AND SHOOTING SU SHOOTING AIRSOFT RIFLE TARGET SHOOTING TRAINING IN PROGRESS TAIPEI, TAIWAN (MAY 31, 2022) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 39-YEAR-OLD TATTOO ARTIST AND AIRSOFT STUDENT, SU CHUN, SAYING: “(In case of war) the country will notify you (reservists) to gather in a certain location and then hand out guns and other equipment. Because most likely there will be teams made up of many people, I think there will certainly be all kinds of people, those who are prepared, people who aren’t prepared and also those who are panicking. I think all those types will be there. I am sure that most people don’t want to go to war, I also don’t want to go to war, but in the unfortunate event of this really happening, I will be mentally prepared.†NEW TAIPEI, TAIWAN (RECENT - MAY 21, 2022) (REUTERS) AIRSOFT STUDENTS WALKING BACKWARDS AWAY FROM TARGETS TAIPEI, TAIWAN (MAY 31, 2022) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 39-YEAR-OLD TATTOO ARTIST AND AIRSOFT STUDENT, SU CHUN, SAYING: “I think that Hong Kong is a really good example. When they (China) took back Hong Kong, they said that there would be ‘one country, two systems’ without a change for the next fifty years. But only after a few years it became apparent that… I am sure that in the beginning China will use a lot of psychological warfare, saying that Taiwan can remain unchanged, but I don’t believe this one bit. Hong Kong is the best example. Also, actually I have always thought that, especially in the recent situation, they (China) will attack for sure, it’s just a matter of time.†NEW TAIPEI, TAIWAN (RECENT - MAY 21, 2022) (REUTERS) AIRSOFT MAGAZINES AND PLASTIC PELLETS LAID OUT ON TABLE AIRSOFT STUDENT PRESSURISING MAGAZINE WITH COMPRESSED AIR AIRSOFT STUDENTS TAKING SHOOTING POSITIONS VARIOUS OF STUDENTS FIRING AIRSOFT RIFLES (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 48-YEAR-OLD CEO OF POLAR LIGHT, MAX CHIANG, SAYING: “At the moment, the number of people participating in this kind of activity in Taiwan is currently increasing. This has been already a trend in the past two years, since Chinese fighter jets started flying close to Taiwan, there has been an increase. After the Ukraine war started, the numbers have tripled or quadrupled, more and more people are coming to take part.†STUDENTS WALKING AND FIRING GUNS (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 48-YEAR-OLD CEO OF POLAR LIGHT, MAX CHIANG, SAYING: “I don’t support the idea of civilians just rashly pushing ahead and creating some sort of militia, because this would cause even more chaos in society due to different political views and so on. We are unable to do checks and filtering, so it’s not good to let groups form naturally. But I think that Taiwan has a lot of volunteer organisations like emergency rescue, or traffic volunteers. The government actually has a very good system in place to mobilise them.†NEW TAIPEI, TAIWAN (RECENT - MAY 29, 2022) (REUTERS) STUDENTS WATCHING INTRODUCTION VIDEO VARIOUS OF STUDENT TAKING NOTES AND PICTURES INSTRUCTOR DEMONSTRATING HOW TO HOLD GUN STUDENTS MIMICKING MOVEMENTS INSTRUCTOR DEMONSTRATING MOVEMENTS VARIOUS OF BEGINNER AIRSOFT STUDENT, CHANG YU, SHOOTING AT TARGETS (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 34-YEAR-OLD TRAVEL GUIDE AND AIRSOFT STUDENT, CHANG YU, SAYING: “It is only because of the Ukraine war that I more urgently started feeling the threat from China, therefore I decided to gain some deeper knowledge about these defensive weapons. In the past, before the start of the war, I was mostly interested in first aid.†VARIOUS OF CHANG SHOOTING TARGETS FROM BEHIND BARRIERS
- Embargoed: 15th June 2022 12:47
- Keywords: China Taiwan airsoft guns
- Location: NEW TAIPEI, TAIPEI, TAIWAN
- City: NEW TAIPEI, TAIPEI, TAIWAN
- Country: Taiwan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA001179531052022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:From tour guides to tattoo artists, some in Taiwan are taking shooting lessons for the first time in their lives as Russia's invasion of Ukraine ratchets up anxiety at the prospect of giant neighbour China making a similar move on the democratic island.
China's growing military pressure on the island it claims as its own, combined with the conflict in Ukraine, has spurred debate about how to boost defences in Taiwan, which is whether to extend compulsory military service.
Since the war in Ukraine started three months ago, bookings have nearly quadrupled for lessons in how to shoot airsoft guns, or low-power devices designed to shoot non-metallic projectiles, said an official of a combat skills training company in Taiwan.
"More and more people are coming to take part," said Max Chiang, chief executive of Polar Light, which is based in a suburb of the capital, Taipei.
Some of those who came to the shooting range this year had not handled guns before, he said, adding that numbers had "tripled or quadrupled" since the start of the Ukraine conflict, which Moscow calls a "special military operation".
Some in Taiwan fear that China, which has never ruled out using force to bring the island under its control, may ramp up the pressure, taking advantage of a West distracted by efforts to support and equip Ukraine in its response to Moscow. Taiwan has raised its alert level but has reported no unusual military movements by Beijing.
Those preparing against a threat from China include Su Chun, a 39-year-old tattoo artist who was determined to learn how to use air guns.
"I wanted to learn some combat skills, including those that are not just limited to using a gun. Maybe skills to be able to react to any kind of situation," he said. Gun training would be useful if the government called up reservists like himself to repulse a Chinese invasion, Su added.
"Most people don't want to go to war, I also don't want to go to war, but in the unfortunate event of this really
happening, I will be mentally prepared."
Use of airsoft guns, popular for military simulation, is taught as a competition sport in Taiwan, which tightly controls gun ownership, but many of the movements and tactics involved resemble combat skills, from shooting posture to aiming. The devices use compressed air to carry less dangerous projectiles, such as small plastic balls, to their targets.
The fear of potential Chinese threat extends to others beyond Su. At the Taipei shooting range one Sunday (May 29) afternoon, dozens of students picked up air guns for the first time as trainers explained safety guidelines and basic details.
There was an "urgent" need to learn more about defensive weapons after the war in Ukraine, said tour guide Chang Yu, who attended the entry-level course with his wife.
“It is only because of the Ukraine war that I more urgently started feeling the threat from China, therefore I decided to gain some deeper knowledge about these defensive weapons. In the past, before the start of the war, I was mostly interested in first aid," he said.
(Production: Fabian Hamacher, Ann Wang) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None