Source: Republic of China Taiwan
President Lai presides over seventh meeting of Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee
On the afternoon of March 19, President Lai Ching-te presided over the seventh meeting of the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee. President Lai stated that this month marks the 30th anniversary of the institution of direct presidential elections in Taiwan. Over that time, he said, Taiwan has progressed further and further, its democracy has grown increasingly resilient, and the nation has become an indispensable partner to the world. The president stated that as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s military ambitions keep growing, Taiwan must maintain peace through strength, and build strength through resilience. He indicated that the government has drawn up a proposal for an eight-year, NT$1.25 trillion special defense budget to protect our national security and spur an upgrading of our industries, but to accomplish this urgent work, a special act must be passed in the Legislative Yuan as soon as possible. The president expressed hope that the ruling and opposition parties will work together to move further ahead with national development. He emphasized that with the idea that “the more prepared we are, the safer we will be” at its core, the government will continue to boost whole-of-society defense resilience and lay a more solid foundation for a safer and more stable Taiwan.
A translation of President Lai’s opening statement follows:
Today, we are convening the seventh meeting of the Office of the President Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee. This is the first time that the committee is meeting since the 2026 Lunar New Year.
Last year, Taiwan faced earthquakes and typhoons, and was struck by the especially serious Fata’an Creek barrier lake disaster. Besides working together to rebuild our homes and communities, we must also continue enhancing our whole-of-society defense resilience in order to increase Taiwan’s disaster preparedness and capacity for providing humanitarian aid.
In addition, Taiwan is a technology powerhouse whose capabilities in drones and other applications can serve as a key bridge for international cooperation.
Taiwan is willing and able to contribute even more to regional peace and prosperity through deepened exchanges and cooperation with other countries.
This month marks the 30th anniversary of the institution of direct presidential elections in Taiwan. This occasion reminds us that Taiwan’s democracy is quite young, and also reminds us how Taiwan, amidst the most challenging circumstances, built a democratic system of government that is now acclaimed the world over.
In 1996, as the people of Taiwan were preparing to take that key step in our transition to democracy by casting their votes in a direct presidential election, the CCP threatened us by conducting large-scale military exercises and missile tests. But the people of Taiwan did not back down. On the contrary, the voter turnout rate exceeded 76 percent for an election that marked an important milestone in our transition to democracy.
Over the past 30 years, Taiwan has progressed further and further, and our democracy has grown increasingly resilient. We have become an indispensable partner to the world. But what has not changed is the military ambitions of the CCP toward Taiwan. They have not abandoned their ambitions; on the contrary, those ambitions just keep growing. Taiwan must maintain peace through strength, and build strength through resilience. This is the way to defend the status quo and prevent disruption of the regional order.
To strengthen our national defense, the government has drawn up a proposal for an eight-year, NT$1.25 trillion special defense budget. This will be used to build the T-Dome, adopt AI as a means of improving our response capabilities, and develop our indigenous defense industries. Such measures will protect our national security, and can spur an upgrading of our industries.
The special defense budget has support from over 60 percent of the public across parties, and has been highly praised in the international community. However, to accomplish this urgent work, a special act must be passed in the Legislative Yuan as soon as possible.
I want to reiterate that we only have a nation insofar as we have sovereignty, and we only have peace insofar as we have strength. We cannot achieve these tasks unless the ruling and opposition parties work together. Political parties can compete, but with regard to matters of national defense – which have a bearing on national security, sovereignty, and our very survival – we need to maintain solidarity and show the world we stand together.
I hope that the ruling and opposition parties can set aside their prejudices and work together. That is the only way to achieve maximum well-being for our society and our people, and the only way to move further ahead with national development.
I also want to emphasize that the CCP’s military preparations are for the purpose of fulfilling its goals for authoritarian expansion. Our preparations, in contrast, are for the purpose of defending the peaceful status quo and ensuring our continued survival.
In vigorously pursuing the goal of whole-of-society defense resilience, our government seeks to gather together the power of the people and enable Taiwan to adopt peace as a core value, adopt democracy as a shared conviction, embrace freedom as a way of life, and demonstrate an unyielding determination to accelerate preparatory efforts in every part of society.
In today’s meeting, the Ministry of the Interior will brief the public on our plans to build regional disaster relief corridors through international collaboration, and the Executive Yuan will report on plans to enhance the readiness of our Central Joint Emergency Operation Center (CJEOC) to respond to extreme geopolitical risks. The National Security Council (NSC) will then report on the 2026 Urban Resilience Exercises scheduled to begin in April across 11 counties and cities. With this, we aim to impress upon our citizens that “the more prepared we are, the safer we will be,” which is the government’s core objective in pursuing whole-of-society defense resilience.
Finally, I want to again thank all the advisors and committee members, as well as our nation’s citizens, for all they have done to build a safer and more resilient Taiwan. We are able to progress with this work and implement one goal after another precisely because all of you are working hard together. We have laid a more solid foundation for a safer and more stable Taiwan.
Following his statement, President Lai heard a report on the progress of items listed in the sixth committee meeting and a report on building regional disaster relief corridors through international whole-of-society defense resilience collaboration by Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳), who also serves as one of the committee’s executive secretaries; a report on the current preparations and promotion of the 2026 Urban Resilience Exercises by NSC Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆), who also serves as the committee’s deputy executive secretary; and a report on the CJEOC’s planned drills for the 2026 Urban Resilience Exercises by Minister without Portfolio of the Executive Yuan Chi Lien-cheng (季連成), who also serves as one of the committee’s executive secretaries. Afterward, President Lai exchanged views with the committee members regarding the content of the reports.