The Presidential Office’s Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee is to host its first international forum on Saturday, with more than 20 foreign experts and representatives expected to attend, a source said yesterday.
The event, titled “Resilient Taiwan, Sustainable Democracy,” marks the committee’s first anniversary and would be the first time that international participants take part, the source said.
The development demonstrates international recognition of Taiwan’s efforts to strengthen its defense resilience and to create opportunities for cooperation with like-minded democracies, they said.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Guests are to include Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Administrator James Barros, American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan chairman Dan Silver, UK Space Agency chief scientist Adam Amara, and Finnish National Emergency Supply Agency Director Aki Laiho, they said, adding that representatives from the European and Japanese chambers of commerce in Taiwan would also attend.
The forum is to focus on what President William Lai (賴清德) has defined as the “five pillars of defense resilience,” namely, civil training and mobilization; strategic materials and daily supplies, energy and infrastructure security; social welfare and medical preparedness; communications and transportation; and financial network security, they said.
Panel discussions, keynote speeches and roundtables are planned for the event, which would highlight Taiwan’s progress on defense resilience, enable discussion on international best practices, and present friendly nation’s progress on the issue, they added.
National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) said the forum would open with remarks by Lai, who also chairs the committee.
Each thematic session would be hosted by committee members with international experts discussing the topics, Lin said.
For example, the session on civil mobilization would be moderated by Forward Alliance founder Enoch Wu (吳怡農), with Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Charity Foundation CEO Yen Po-wen (顏博文) delivering a keynote on how Taiwan’s civil society contributes to disaster relief, preparedness and resilience, he said.
Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said Lai has promoted whole-of-society defense resilience since taking office by coordinating the efforts of central and local governments with those of civil groups, while also deepening exchanges with international partners.
Taiwan has already shared expertise with Japan, the US and several European countries in areas such as disaster prevention, cybersecurity and energy security, she said.
The guest list includes experts across sectors such as trade, space science, disaster management, energy security and supply chain resilience, showing that the forum is intended as an opportunity to explore future cooperation in multiple fields, she said.
“Since its establishment, the committee has sought to develop a comprehensive national resilience strategy spanning four areas — defense, civil preparedness, disaster prevention and democratic sustainability,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Office also plans to send a delegation of five officials to Tokyo in August next year to observe a disaster prevention drill there and meet with local officials, according to the Presidential Office budget.
Those officials would include members of the Japanese Ministry of Defense, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the National Defense Academy, and the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, the budget indicated.
The six-day visit is expected to cost about NT$500,000, including NT$175,000 for transportation, NT$233,000 for living expenses and NT$89,000 for office expenditures, it showed.
The Presidential Office said the trip is “aimed at learning from Japan’s extensive experience in resilience and disaster preparedness, while deepening bilateral cooperation and exploring possibilities for further exchanges.”
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