Taiwan's Vice President Bi-khim Hsiao has announced the formation of the Taiwan Parliamentary All-Out Defense Committee. The government initiative invites civil society leaders from across Taiwan to improve the country's disaster response mechanisms, including better education and resources for civilians.
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00:00National defense goes beyond the military. It's also the responsibility of civil society
00:06and every civilian in it. That's the message being hammered home by the government at this
00:11press conference in Taipei.
00:13A cross-section of legislators and civil society leaders have come to lend their support as
00:18Taiwan's Vice President Bi-Kim Hsiao announces the formation of the Taiwan Parliamentary
00:24All-Out Defense Committee.
00:26In addition to dealing with the impact of climate change on the natural disaster environment,
00:34the challenge of geopolitics is also in front of us.
00:38So at this time, the Legislative Yuan will continue to expand the National Defense Connection
00:46established in the past with private groups.
00:49The connection of all our social forces is more important at this critical time.
00:54A project two years in the making, the committee plans to strengthen relationships between
00:59public and private sectors and the general public to better prepare Taiwan in the event
01:04of a catastrophe, be it natural or military.
01:08The committee's campaign will include better education for citizens, expanding the powers
01:14of civil society, providing more resources for disaster response, improving medical networks
01:20and reinforcing digital, energy, transportation, and financial infrastructure.
01:26The committee aims to bring together experts from across the country, including from agriculture,
01:31tech, commerce, and the military, and form a more collaborative, nationwide mechanism
01:37to disaster response.
01:39In the face of increasing aggression from China, Taiwan is taking every preventative
01:45measure it can to give itself the best chance of surviving the worst-case scenario.
01:51Ryan Wu and Rhys Ayres in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.