Ahead of Taiwan's year-end local elections, civil defense experts are pressing every mayoral and county chief candidate to treat war damage as part of local disaster planning — a warning sign that Taiwan's civil society sees gray-zone harassment from China as a live threat, not a distant one.

• Taiwan's 14 undersea internet cables land at just 8 stations, making them an easy early target for sabotage or cyberattack paired with disinformation to spark panic.
• Local governments are urged to build non-commercial backup communications so emergency alerts still reach people if the cables go down.
• Neighborhoods should inventory bomb shelters and add lighting, sanitation, and backup power, with a "model resilient community" award scheme to encourage participation.
• Small businesses are the weak spot: unlike big firms, they get cut off from official information, so cities should push out guidance on labor, power and water supply, and traffic control before a crisis, not cash after one.
• New mayors are asked to publish a civil defense budget review covering 2025–2027 as soon as they take office.

Outlook: Expect wartime readiness to become a campaign issue in Taiwan's local races, with the Kuma Academy and allied groups grading candidates on whether they offer specific resilience plans.