On Thursday, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) oversaw the first-ever "urban resilience exercises" (城鎮韌性演習) in Tainan, accompanied by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene, and other foreign delegation observers. Following the drills, Lin made statements that peace relies on strength, and unified cooperation between all levels of government and the public-private sectors.
The Foreign Ministry reported that the minister assisted in receiving 23 representatives and personnel from over 10 countries stationed around Taiwan, many of whom were long involved in the promotion of whole-of-society resilience programs. Lin pointed out that many democratic countries are investing in society-wide defense and resilience, making it both a global trend, and a perfect strategy for Taiwan.
He went on to say that Taiwan’s security lies jointly in its own strength to achieve the goals of peace, and that national security is the shared responsibility of all people.
To that end, Lin said the Foreign Ministry will continue cooperation with like-minded countries to promote exchanges in areas including disaster prevention and response, infrastructure security and social resilience. One such example is the Whole-of-Society Resilience Building, Preparation and Response workshop held through the Global Cooperation and Training Framework in cooperation with the United States, Japan, Australia, and Canada earlier this month.
The "urban resilience exercises" are a result of President Lai’s Whole-of-Society policy, and an extrapolation of the committee’s December tabletop exercises. Thursday’s drills integrated both the Wan An air raid drills and Min An disaster response exercises, and integrated important local government resources to build Taiwan into a more resilient society.