Taiwan is looking to its local communities for a holistic approach to national security.

In June 2024, President Lai Ching-te announced the formation of the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience (WOSR) Committee, a key initiative expected to define his administration’s approach to national security and regional stability. As its convener, Lai emphasized the Committee’s role in fortifying Taiwan’s democratic society against potential disruptions.

The Committee will focus on five critical areas: supply chain preparedness, energy and infrastructure resilience, access to social services and medical care, the protection of transportation, communications, and financial networks, and civilian training and mobilization.

A critical component of the initiative will be the roles played by Taiwan’s emergency and security agencies under the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), including the National Police Agency (NPA), the National Fire Agency (NFA), and military service personnel. Their responsibilities extend beyond crisis response – the most pivotal work lies in the preparation and coordination efforts taking place long before an emergency arises.

The MOI has identified its own initiatives in alignment with the Committee’s commitment to advance WOSR training. When disaster strikes, firefighters and other emergency responders must preserve the bandwidth to address high-priority cases. Therefore, the MOI is engaging crisis experts to help civilians navigate disruptions with greater independence and efficiency.

Taiwan has maintained compulsory military service since 1949, when martial law was imposed after the Republic of China government retreated to the island following its defeat by the communists in the Chinese Civil War. Over the decades, the length of service was gradually reduced, reaching its shortest duration – four months – in 2018. Conscription was once more extended to one year in 2024 for men born in or after 2005 under the Enhanced National Defense Force Structure Adjustment Plan.

The scope of service responsibilities for conscripts has also “been reviewed to assign new civil defense missions to alternative service personnel,” the MOI told Taiwan Business TOPICS in emailed comments. Alternative service remains a pathway for those who qualify – such as individuals with medical conditions or Indigenous conscripts – to fulfill their military obligation through non-combat roles. Alternative postings include assignments in social and public welfare services, infrastructure support, and defense-adjacent positions.

In 2024, Taiwan began expanding its alternative service program to include new training in EMT-1 emergency medical care, public security maintenance, disaster relief, live-fire shooting, and urban resilience exercises. According to the MOI, the program trained more than 6,000 personnel in 2023, and participation is expected to surpass 50,000 in the coming year.

By 2025, alternative service members will also undergo disaster prevention specialist training, expected to result in the certification of more than 30,000 personnel. Of these, 10,000 will be stationed across Taiwan’s 368 townships, cities, and districts to support local disaster response centers.

The effort to utilize alternative service members as vessels for enhanced defense training at the community level is a welcome sight by many. “The military service taught me some basic skills like stopping bleeding, shooting a gun, and combat,” says Yoder Lin, a social worker based in Taipei. “But I’m not sure how useful they could be for my community.”

Empowering the individual 

In recent years, civil defense organizations have played an increasingly crucial role in strengthening societal resilience. Taiwanese groups like Forward Alliance and Kuma Academy have been at the forefront of these efforts, equipping the public with practical emergency response skills and fostering a vital, collective psychological preparedness for crisis situations.

“Many civil defense groups in Taiwan already teach people how to apply tourniquets, perform first aid, or store food and water in their homes,” says Samuel Morpheus, founder of Academia Formosana, a community resilience organization that focuses on grassroots preparedness for national emergencies. “These are good training programs. But in an urban setting, it is unrealistic to expect individuals to possess all the skills necessary for survival.”

Academia Formosana integrates community-wide disaster response strategies, building strong ties with expansive networks like Taiwan’s Presbyterian Church and other civil society groups to maintain the sustainability of Taiwanese society. “In May, we will join emergency drills organized by the NFA, the MOI, and the Ministry of National Defense,” says Morpheus.

For its part, the MOI seeks to further deepen ties among government agencies, local organizations, and private sector participants by establishing and promoting Taiwan Community Emergency Response Teams (T-CERTs). The Mid-Term Program for Autonomous CERTs was launched in 2024 by the NFA, with a focus on infrastructure development, instructor training, and basic emergency response education.

As of December 2024, 90 teams – comprising more than 1,800 members – have completed training, according to the MOI. The T-CERT program is modeled after its U.S. counterpart but has been adapted to address Taiwan-specific risk factors, such as spatial recognition training and a focus on national land-use planning in place of counterterrorism modules.

“The focus is on command, operations, intelligence, and logistics,” says the MOI. “By combining international expertise with localized strategies, trained civilian personnel will serve as frontline emergency responders to strengthen local disaster resilience.”

Through a three-day diversified training course that combines theory and practice, T-CERT members become capable of quickly mobilizing, organizing, and carrying out life rescue tasks on their own prior to the government rescue personnel, according to an NFA press release.

Training primarily focuses on core disaster prevention and response skills, including fire safety, basic medical care, light-duty rescue, and psychological support for disaster victims. Instructors emphasize a hands-on, teamwork-based approach to instruction. Taiwan’s private enterprises, medical institutions, civil defense groups, villages, and communities will all be encouraged to form T-CERTs to protect the nation’s critical infrastructure and establish a robust civilian disaster response system.

“The private sector is always more versatile and responsive,” says Academia Formosana’s Morpheus. He notes that the private sector could also play a more prominent part in helping bolster Taiwan’s energy resilience.

Taiwan’s centralized power grid, he notes, is both highly vulnerable and a likely target in the event of missile strikes or other large-scale infrastructure disruptions. As a potential solution, Morpheus suggests that churches could serve as decentralized energy hubs by installing rooftop solar panels, providing localized resilience in times of crisis.

“Most chapels also have educational buildings that could provide emergency shelter,” he says. Technology and expert exchanges, in addition to donations, could help to upgrade these facilities and infrastructure to sustain communities during a crisis, equipping congregations to operate as local resilience centers.

In the future, T-CERT deployment will expand to schools at all levels, equipping faculty with the skills needed for self-rescue and mutual assistance, the NFA said in another press release. The statement was issued in response to media reports that mischaracterized the training as a potential recruitment tool for high school students – an assertion that sparked parental concerns about their children being “sent to the battlefield.”

“Parents would definitely be concerned about T-CERT training for teachers,” says Lin. “However, the bomb drills that happen every year in Taiwan require teachers to explain what the drill is and why it’s in place, so children have some exposure to the subject anyway.” The NFA confirmed that only faculty of educational institutions will be involved.

Coordinating the community

In a disaster scenario of scale, as urban residents move to safer spaces, pandemonium is inevitable. To prevent personnel from being overwhelmed and to mitigate resource congestion in affected areas, the MOI is establishing Disaster Coordinating Centers in every township, city, and district.

“These centers will effectively deploy certified disaster prevention specialists, integrate regional manpower and resources, and establish a structured emergency response mechanism,” says the MOI.

The centers will support local government disaster relief efforts by coordinating training exercises, preparedness planning, and emergency response operations. In times of crisis, they will manage evacuation registrations, damage assessments, victim assistance, and logistical resource distribution. Each center will be led by a high-ranking township or district official, who will be joined by members of local volunteer networks, resilience community teams, and NGOs.

“We want to significantly expand training efforts to strengthen public disaster preparedness,” says the MOI. Its Disaster Prevention Specialist Program is inspired by Japan’s Bōsai-shi system, which emphasizes self-reliance, mutual aid, and community-wide disaster response, equipping civilians with the knowledge and skills needed to act swiftly in times of crisis.

The educational program is open to all individuals regardless of prior experience or age, consisting of 15 hours of instruction followed by a one-hour exam. Upon completion, participants become certified disaster prevention specialists. As of January 2025, Taiwan has certified 41,564 specialists.

Meanwhile, the NPA is continuing to strengthen civilian security support, recruiting younger personnel and enhancing its training programs with more hands-on exercises. “The agency is expanding high-level leadership training for civil defense teams, covering disinformation detection, cybersecurity, leadership skills, drone reconnaissance, and basic first aid and self-rescue,” says an NPA spokesperson.

While these centers and their trained specialists will provide communities across Taiwan with critical direction, support, and connectivity, Indigenous and rural communities remain largely underserved in the preparation process. Moreover, in the event of a crisis, these areas could become points of tension, as urban residents seeking refuge may strain local resources.

“During a war, demographics will shift dramatically,” says Morpheus. “People will flee from cities into the rural areas and mountains to escape attacks. That’s why we prioritize preparing rural and aboriginal congregations first.”

Academia Formosana, together with Taiwan’s Presbyterian Church, has been laying the foundations for rural populations to sustain their livelihoods and build connections with Taiwan at large. As part of its efforts, the organization has developed a comprehensive map detailing critical infrastructure, including food and water sources, shelters, electricity towers, and hospitals. The map also features a tool that predicts likely missile strike zones, estimates their impact radius, and identifies alternative facilities should nearby resources be compromised by an attack.

“We have a visualization of the 1,300 Presbyterian congregations,” says Morpheus. “The non-aboriginal congregations are spread throughout the cities and rural areas across Taiwan. Meanwhile, the aboriginal congregations are mostly in the mountainous regions and along the East Coast.”

Government subsidies and expanded resources for Indigenous communities have faced some criticism from non-Indigenous groups, who argue that such policies create disparities in social benefits. Contentious issues include lower retirement ages, specialized welfare programs, and land rights protections for Indigenous populations. These policies have fueled ongoing debates over resource allocation and equity in public policy.

“What we need is stronger people-to-people and business-to-community cooperation,” says Morpheus. He emphasizes that inclusive infrastructure projects – designed to benefit both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities – could help bridge existing gaps. “We have the people. We have the facilities. What we lack are the resources to make it work.”