DPP lawmakers speak on war resilience in US - EUROPE SAYS
By Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNADemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday detailed Taiwan’s whole-of-society resilience against the threat of a Chinese military invasion, underscoring. . .
/ Staff writer, with CNADemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday detailed Taiwan’s whole-of-society resilience against the threat of a Chinese military invasion, underscoring civil defense, resilience and acquisition of weapons during a seminar in Washington. Legislators Puma Shen (沈柏洋) and Wang Ting-yu (王定余) made the remarks in a seminar hosted by the Hudson Institution which outlined Taiwan’s efforts to deal with cognitive warfare and disinformation, bolster supply chain resilience, and counter “gray zone” tactics. “Whole-of-society defense means that we are democratizing defense and trying to inject the spirit of defense … to ordinary people” instead of “turning society into a barracks,” Shen said. Photo from Wang’s Facebook pageShen cofounded the Kuma Academy, which provides courses for civilians on skills such as first aid, stockpiling food and handling communications devices, he said. All-of-society defense depends on capabilities across multiple domains, including having a powerful military force, hardened infrastructure, economic resilience, civil defense and psychological strength, Shen said. The fierce debates surrounding foreign arms sales in Taiwan are about strengthening the military’s fighting capabilities, he added. Creating an economy that can function in a contingency and eliminating dependency is also key to the whole-of-society defense concept, he said. Civil defense is about imparting critical skills on the whole population, including first-aid skills for stopping bleeding, evacuation procedures, keeping safe amid war conditions, self-defense and survival gardening, he said. The most important part of resilience is “the no surrender mindset,” as well as media literacy to separate disinformation from facts, Shen said. The government has been working in the policy and civil society fields to develop these capabilities, but private endeavors would be greatly enhanced if cooperation with government was to improve, he said. The difficulties involved in a full-scale invasion mean that Beijing is more likely to resort to imposing a blockade or quarantine of Taiwan proper, Wang said. “We need to establish not only our arsenal, but also all the critical resources, establish self-sufficient and resilient supply chains in Taiwan, and strong ties with neighboring countries,” he said. Building an alliance is crucial for Taiwan to counter a naval blockade, and it is equally vital to the world that they join forces to protect the nation, Wang said. Taiwan dominates the semiconductor sector, supplying 95 percent of advanced chips and 99 percent of artificial intelligence chips, but it also makes all kinds of machinery, including components for electric vehicles, he said. “Taiwan is an important member of the global supply chain, and once military conflict occurs, no matter who wins the war, it will destroy the global economy,” he said. The lawmakers are on a visit to the US led by DPP caucus whip Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌). Tsai had previously said that the delegation’s purpose is to reaffirm Taiwan-US friendship, the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan’s resolve to defend itself, and bilateral trade. The delegation on Thursday met with members of the US Congress and officials from the US Department of Defense, Department of State, and National Security Council. In a post on X, former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi said “it was a pleasure” to welcome Tsai and the DPP delegation “to discuss the security challenges facing Taiwan. ”“America remains committed to supporting democracy in Taiwan and standing with all who value freedom,” she added.