President Lai Ching-te presided over the inaugural meeting of the National Whole-of-Society Resilience Committee Sept. 26 in Taipei City, underscoring the government’s commitment to enhancing civilian emergency preparedness.
Delivering the opening remarks, Lai said climate change, large-scale natural disasters and authoritarian expansion pose challenges for both the country and the international community, adding that a more resilient Taiwan would make greater contributions to global democracy, peace and prosperity.
The president highlighted three areas of focus to strengthen the country’s response capabilities and expand government-civilian cooperation.
The first is to prepare for worst-case scenarios. Comprehensive and proactive measures are essential for ensuring rapid reaction time and normal societal function in times of emergency, Lai said.
Second, ordinary citizens should receive response and mobilization training to increase stockpiles of critical supplies and safeguard the operation of vital infrastructure, including the electric grid; finance, information security and transportation networks; and medical and evacuation facilities, the president added.
Finally, the central and local governments must reinforce collaboration with civil organizations to identify problem areas and develop strategies to address them, Lai said.
In selecting committee members, the government has taken background, experience, specialty, age and gender into careful consideration, the president said, adding that a diverse body will be better able to tackle the complexity of the task.
Lai concluded by conveying confidence that robust determination and preparedness will deepen Taiwan’s cooperation with like-minded partners in facing domestic and international concerns.
The National Whole-of-Society Resilience Committee is one of three advisory groups announced by the president in June. The other two are the National Climate Change Committee and the Healthy Taiwan Promotion Committee. (POC-E)
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