Early Thoughts on Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee

News: Committee to gather to boost resilience

DPP Mission in the U.S. comment: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2024/07/26/2003821318

After reviewing the Committee’s latest information, I have some early thoughts on its current formation.

*this is personal opinion

• Resilience must correspond to specific threat scenarios/contexts. This could involve armed conflicts instigated by neighboring countries or threats arising from large-scale disasters that combine military and civilian actions. The nature of these threats should be clearly articulated, as this sets the fundamental framework for the direction of the discussion.
• Is the committee merely for “public display," or does it play a role in the policy-making process? This remains unclear.
• The development of civil defense should avoid adopting a political “elite guard" approach, as it concerns the safety of the entire nation. Defense is not about elite guards; the more the decision-making process is dominated by a select group, the less resilient the outcomes will be.
• Many committee members clearly lack practical experience and relevant expertise. Good intentions alone do not make one qualified in a professional field. While there are many well-intentioned people, following popular yet untested ideas is not enough to address the resilience and defense challenges faced by Taiwan—unless this committee is merely a study group.
• The listed members of the committee could naturally become prime targets for various forms of infiltration attacks. Therefore, committee members must be required to undergo mandatory security training and adhere to strict security protocols; otherwise, they will become a security vulnerability. However, as previously mentioned, if this is just a study group, such demands would be excessive.

Thank you for reading this.