Lai urges codification of whole-of-society defense responses

Taipei, Dec. 24 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) 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.

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.

"What can truly protect Taiwan is not only military power, but also social resilience. We must codify preparedness efforts at the grassroots level and encourage every citizen to participate," Lai said.

He asked the Cabinet to take charge of coordinating disaster prevention efforts between central and local government agencies, stressing that such responsibilities should be clearly codified so every agency understands its role.

Similarly, Lai said, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), communities and families should also have standardized actions to follow in the event of an emergency.

"Many civil defense organizations and NGOs have been very active and willing to engage in public discussions on how to respond to emergencies," he said.

"The government should be more open-minded and establish clear participation and authorization mechanisms to bring together more forces in strengthening whole-of-society resilience."

The president also emphasized the importance of disaster prevention and mitigation education for people of all ages.

He instructed the Cabinet to identify existing educational resources and enhance cooperation with civic groups to develop teaching materials for different age groups, equipping the public with deeper knowledge of disaster prevention and mitigation and familiarizing them with essential skills.

In addition, Lai directed the Ministry of National Defense to expand military-civilian cooperation through drills, building on this year's Urban Resilience Exercises held in July.

Competent authorities should also conduct "unscripted" drills to strengthen resilience in areas such as energy, transportation, communications and health care, while ensuring that supplies of daily necessities and the financial sector are not disrupted during contingencies, he said.

In closing, Lai stressed that developing whole-of-society resilience is not about preparing for war, but about deterring an enemy from starting one.

He vowed to resolutely push forward efforts to strengthen social resilience, saying that "a resilient Taiwan is extremely difficult to defeat."