Plans are under way to conduct a tabletop exercise in December and an unscripted civilian defense exercise in March next year for training and to determine potential needs, officials announced at the inaugural meeting of the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee yesterday.
It is important to take an open-ended practical approach that can incorporate military troops — similar to the annual Han Kuang military drills — while involving all of society to enhance preparedness and resiliency to deal with any contingency, committee members said.
“President William Lai (賴清德) does not want theoretical discussions on paper; he wants to see action with real operations in the field,” said National Security Council (NSC) Deputy Secretary-General Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉), who briefed the committee before entering a closed-door meeting.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Hsu stressed five fundamentals for “whole-of-society defense resilience”: all-civilian participation, food and essential materials preparation, energy supply, medical resources and communications networks.
The main concept is to mobilize all sectors of society to partake in defense exercises, Hsu said.
This means the public must change their thinking, as in the past, government agencies took charge of all drills involving the military and civil sectors, he said.
“The traditional way is for Taiwan’s government and military to take charge, issuing orders to civilians during natural disasters and emergencies,” he said. “Now we have to adjust this thinking to bolster civilian participation during contingencies, for people to know that ‘we can take the initiative to save lives.’”
“From there they can assist the local community, and if needed, can go on to assist rescue and relief operations by the military,” Hsu said.
An estimated 400,000 people nationwide, including active and former reserve military service members, volunteers at police stations and fire departments and those from private disaster relief and charity groups, could be brought together for civil protection training and exercises, Hsu said.
In times of need, these trained people can be dispatched by their local coordination centers — to be set up by the Ministry of the Interior in cooperation with local governments — to perform organized and community-level rescue, medical first aid and evacuation work, he said.
Proposals and strategies formulated during the committee’s discussions would be tested over the next six months to one year, Hsu said, adding that a tabletop exercise is scheduled for December followed by a “small-scale” and “unscripted” drill in a town in March next year.
Another national security official pointed to preparation for food and essential materials.
In the past, food stores were coordinated by Ministry of National Defense food stations, but they would now cooperate with convenience stores and hypermarts for the upcoming defense exercise, the official said.
Participants would also take advice from private retailers, courier services and home delivery businesses, they added.
In his address to the committee, Lai said that Taiwan is facing challenges posed by climate change and hostility from an authoritarian regime, as are many nations around the world.
This body is among three new presidential committees set up recently, which are all linked to strengthen Taiwan’s resilience, a news release from the Presidential Office quoted Lai as saying.
“We are working hard to make Taiwan stronger, to deal with these challenges and to deepen Taiwan’s collaboration with the international community,” he said.
“We shall draw up comprehensive plans and assess all resources to prepare for emergencies, so our nation can become robust to counter hostile forces and instill strong confidence and resolve in our citizens,” he said.
“When we have resilience and are prepared to deal with contingencies, then there is no fear,” he said, adding that it is therefore vital to expand programs to train civilians, protect the supply and distribution of strategic goods, ensure the normal operation of basic energy infrastructure, safeguard the security for digital and financial networks, and maintain logistic and transport channels, even in emergencies.
Lai thanked the efforts to organize the committee by its three deputy conveners, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) and NSC Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), as well as two executive secretaries, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) and Minister Without Portfolio Lieutenant General Chi Lien-cheng (季連成).
Members of the committee from the business sector include Google Taiwan managing director Tina Lin (林雅芳), Trend Micro manager for Taiwan and Hong Kong Bob Hung (洪偉淦) and Lin Min-xiong (林敏雄), chairman of the supermarket chain Pxmart Co.
The committee also includes Tan Sin-liong (陳信良), general secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan; Yen Po-wen (顏博文), CEO of the Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation; and Enoch Wu (吳怡農), founder and head of Forward Alliance.
Additional reporting by CNA
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