Story perspectives

Taiwan caps mobile data during Han Kuang drills

8/13/2026

Center

Taiwan Simulates Slowdown

Taiwan staged a 30-minute mobile-internet slowdown and air-raid drill in central and northern cities on 10 August and 13 August 2024 during Han Kuang war games.
President Lai Ching-te apologized for the inconvenience and urged the public to back the drill.
The slowdown capped mobile data at 256 kbps, restricting video calls, live streams and food-delivery apps.
Mainland Affairs Council called China’s joint naval exercise with Indonesia a military provocation.

Left

Taiwan Data Drill

Taiwan slowed mobile-Internet service for 30 minutes and held an air-raid drill in central and northern cities on 10 August and 13 August as part of its Han Kuang war games.
The exercise underscored how rapidly citizens lose access to information when mobile data is cut, sparking calls for offline preparedness.
Only cellular data was disabled; ATMs, traffic signals, landlines and fixed-line Internet kept operating.

Blindspot

President Lai Ching-te apologized for the inconvenience caused by the 30-minute mobile-internet slowdown and urged public support for the drill, while the Mainland Affairs Council condemned China’s joint naval exercise with Indonesia as a military provocation.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Center-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Left-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

During the 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis, the PLA launched two DF-21 missiles and dozens of rockets, prompting Lee Teng-hui to shut mobile networks for 30 minutes—affecting about 12 million users—and to close the strait to commercial traffic. The show of force, backed by roughly 100,000 troops, spurred U.S. carrier deployments and cemented cross-strait tension, a backdrop for today’s Han Kuang drills and Lai Ching-te’s renewed data cap.

1 of 4

Taiwan Simulates Slowdown

Taiwan staged a 30-minute mobile-internet slowdown and air-raid drill in central and northern cities on 10 August and 13 August 2024 during Han Kuang war games.
President Lai Ching-te apologized for the inconvenience and urged the public to back the drill.
The slowdown capped mobile data at 256 kbps, restricting video calls, live streams and food-delivery apps.
Mainland Affairs Council called China’s joint naval exercise with Indonesia a military provocation.

1 / 4