President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) newly formed committee is tasked with empowering civilians to improve national defense and disaster response. The committee met for the first time this Friday with Lai as chair.
National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) presented blueprints of a plan to incorporate 400,000 people into the project, including police support volunteers and civil society groups, with a focus on large-scale disaster response. When Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) spoke to the Legislature she added that substitute military service personnel will also undergo EMT, emergency rescue, security maintenance, and drone training.
Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) emphasized that resilient national defenses must integrate military and civilian operations. Koo said that it will require continued government operation, social stability, and search and rescue military support.