Taipei: President Lai Ching-te has instructed the Cabinet to codify whole-of-society defense responses so that government agencies and civilians have standardized courses of action to follow during emergencies. Lai issued the instruction on Tuesday following the sixth meeting of the Presidential Office’s Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee.
According to Focus Taiwan, the committee was established in June 2024, just under a month after Lai took office. It aims to improve civilian emergency responses and strengthen energy, financial, and communications security in the event of an attack by China or other emergencies. Lai emphasized the importance of social resilience, stating that preparedness efforts must be codified at the grassroots level and that every citizen should be encouraged to participate.
Lai tasked the Cabinet with coordinating disaster prevention efforts between central and local government agencies, stressing the need for clear codification so that each agency understands its role. Non-governmental organizations, communities, and families should also have standardized actions to follow during emergencies, he said.
The president acknowledged the active role of civil defense organizations and NGOs in public discussions on emergency responses. He urged the government to be more open-minded and to establish clear participation and authorization mechanisms to strengthen whole-of-society resilience.
Lai also highlighted the importance of disaster prevention and mitigation education for all age groups. He directed the Cabinet to enhance cooperation with civic groups to develop educational materials that equip the public with essential skills for disaster prevention and mitigation.
Additionally, Lai instructed the Ministry of National Defense to expand military-civilian cooperation through drills, building on the Urban Resilience Exercises held in July. He called for “unscripted” drills to strengthen resilience in sectors such as energy, transportation, communications, and health care, while ensuring the stability of daily necessities and the financial sector during contingencies.
Lai concluded by stating that the goal of developing whole-of-society resilience is to deter enemies from starting a war, rather than preparing for one. He committed to advancing efforts to enhance social resilience, asserting that “a resilient Taiwan is extremely difficult to defeat.”
