After a powerful earthquake struck Kumamoto, Japan, on Tuesday last week, an elevated bridge was left badly misaligned with its deck buckling upward, yet it did not completely collapse. To the naked eye, the bridge appears to have failed, but from an engineering standpoint, it accomplished its mission — preserving lives.
This is precisely the essence of modern earthquake-resistant engineering: Structures are designed to allow for localized damage to prevent overall failure. This is a principle that extends beyond bridges — it should also be applied to Taiwan’s national security.
In the past few years, China’s campaign of pressure against Taiwan has expanded far beyond routine incursions of military aircraft and warships. It includes drone surveillance, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, economic coercion and a range of other “gray zone” threats carried out through “united front” operations. These actions are deliberately kept below the threshold of total war, with the aim of steadily depleting military capacity, social trust and the psychological resilience of the public.
Therefore, national defense should not be understood as a mere competition over weapons, but nations should instead build whole-of-society defense resilience encompassing the military, society, psychology and institutions.
National defense resilience does not mean requiring every facility to remain completely undamaged. Rather, it means ensuring the core functions of the nation continue to operate even when it comes under attack. True defense capability lies in uninterrupted government command, sustained military strength, the continued function of basic services such as energy, communications, transportation and healthcare, a democratic system that continues to operate and a public that is not thrown into chaos by panic or disinformation.
Among these factors, psychological resilience is particularly crucial. The primary objective of “gray zone” tactics is often not the immediate destruction of the government, but the prolonged use of military pressure and information manipulation to gradually convince the public that resistance is meaningless and that democracy can protect itself. When a society begins to fracture from within, external forces can more easily achieve their goals. Therefore, remaining calm, rationally assessing information and maintaining faith in democratic institutions themselves hold important power in national defense.
A democratic society allows for discussions between differing viewpoints, which is precisely the value of a free society. However, when people deliberately spread false information or manipulate social divisions, the government should respond with legal measures. Society must also enhance its ability to distinguish fact from fiction by cultivating media literacy, thus striking a balance between protecting freedom of speech and safeguarding national security.
At the same time, the nation must continue bolstering the protection of critical infrastructure, cybersecurity, disaster prevention education and civil defense systems to build a resilient society in which the government, businesses and citizens all play a role.
The elevated bridge in Kumamoto reminds us that the true value of a bridge is not how perfect it appears on a sunny day, but how well it can protect lives when an earthquake strikes. Likewise, the true strength of a nation is measured by whether it can continue to uphold its democratic institutions, social trust and confidence amid prolonged military pressure and political infiltration.
A truly resilient Taiwan is one that can remain standing and continue moving forward — even in the midst of a storm.
Hsiao Hsi-huei is a freelancer.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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