President Lai Ching-te has convened the first meeting of a new civil defense committee, which brought together leaders from civil society to discuss how they might better cooperate with the government in a crisis.
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00:00The country needs to prepare for a crisis.
00:04That was the message from President Lai Ching-de as he convened a new committee on civil defense.
00:09The committee includes representatives from civil society, security, and religious groups
00:14coming together to discuss how they might work with the government during times of crisis.
00:19The central and local governments need to carry out full-scale verification and training,
00:25as well as expanding links with civil society and the community.
00:28We need to cooperate with each other.
00:31We need to find problems in a systematic and professional way.
00:36We need to find solutions and implement them.
00:39The hope is that the country will be able to handle not only the medical and social demands of a crisis,
00:45but also maintain its critical infrastructure, including energy, communication, and financial networks.
00:50The government is planning at least three exercises over the next year.
00:54In February, we will hold a table-to-table military drill.
00:58In March, we hope to hold a small-scale drill in a certain county.
01:04In June and July, we hope to hold a more comprehensive expeditionary drill in conjunction with the Han Guang exercise.
01:12Such drills wouldn't be a first in Taiwan.
01:15Both government and civil groups have conducted civil defense drills in the past.
01:19The meeting came on the same day that the defense ministry said it detected
01:23Chinese military joint combat readiness patrols around Taiwan,
01:27and days after a major Chinese missile test.
01:31The country has also been hit with natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons this year.
01:36The government's focus on drills may have its limits, however.
01:39After the Taiwan meeting, can we be honest with the policy?
01:42In fact, its effect is very limited.
01:44Some exercises or exercises, it can't handle.
01:48For example, the explosion of the power plant.
01:50Whatever its effect on policy, it seems President Lai is at least trying to draw more attention
01:55to the need for preparation across the country,
01:58as the natural and man-made risks to Taiwan don't appear to be going away anytime soon.
02:04Devin Tsai and Chris Gorin for Taiwan Plus.