President Lai Ching-te said Sept. 20 that Taiwan is committed to building defense capability and societal resilience through continued preparedness to safeguard peace and avoid conflict.
Lai made the remarks while opening the Resilient Taiwan for Sustainable Democracy International Forum in Taipei City. The president noted that Taiwan and other countries worldwide are facing two major challenges: extreme climate change and authoritarian systems, and urged partners to undertake action and contingency planning.
Since establishing the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee at the Presidential Office last year, the government has been working hard to bolster the committee’s tasks of civilian force training, material distribution and energy security, among others, Lai said, adding that this has resulted in cooperation between the public and private sectors.
The country has also integrated disaster prevention and national defense for the first time, the president said, citing the concurrent hosting of July’s annual Han Kuang military exercises and Urban Resilience Exercises, as well as the designation of the month as National Solidarity Month.
According to Lai, the goal is to attain peace through strength, and strength through resilience. Many private organizations including enterprises, volunteer organizations and civil defense NGOs have launched their own resilience initiatives, the president said. He added that preparations, including increasing defense budget for next year to 3.32 percent of GDP and an allocation of NT$150 billion (US$4.9 billion) for resilience in homeland security, are to preserve the status quo of peace and the sustainability of freedom and democracy.
In addition, this week the Ministry of National Defense released its updated all-out defense manual “In Case of Crisis: Taiwan’s National Public Safety Guide,” Lai said, adding that the government plans to ensure that every household has access to this guide.
The president further noted that at this challenging time, cooperation among like-minded countries is most important. He thanked forum participants and international team members who visited to participate in National Disaster Prevention Day drills Sept. 21, and concluded by quoting the manual’s statement that the people of Taiwan will never bow to aggressors but stand tall and defend their hard-earned way of life. (YCH-E)
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