Enoch Wu, founder of Forward Alliance, a Taiwanese national security and civil defense think tank, is a member of President Lai Ching-te's new civil defense committee. After attending the committee's first meeting in September, Wu spoke to TaiwanPlus about what happens next and the role his organization plays in preparing Taiwan for any eventuality.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00So, Enoch, you were there yesterday with President Lai and the rest of the committee.
00:05Can you tell us, were there any kind of concrete outcomes from this first meeting?
00:10Emerging national security challenges will have to require new approaches to risk management,
00:16and that has to include whole-of-government coordination.
00:19And that's both vertical and horizontal, as well as a whole-of-society coalition.
00:25So as a concrete next step, working groups have been formed, and they will meet monthly
00:30to begin asking the tough questions and to involve more members of society, including
00:35industry.
00:37One of the responsibilities of each committee member, the way I see it, is to leverage their
00:42respective expertise and their professional networks to help the administration check
00:47for blind spots.
00:49And it's also going to be our job to help the government approach public-private partnership
00:54in a way that ensures success.
00:58That means with a focus on collaboration, on communication, and on information sharing.
01:03Because whether you're a government agency or a private enterprise or a civil society
01:09organization, we all share the same risks.
01:12So you were there representing Forward Alliance, a civil defense think tank.
01:18What kind of role does Forward Alliance play in civil defense and disaster preparedness?
01:24Our mission is to work with established grassroots organizations to share the emergency response
01:32knowledge, the skills, and the resources, so that they can continue helping their communities
01:37in times of need.
01:39Our job is to empower the amazing community leaders and organizers and activists that
01:46are already committed to service on a daily basis, and that is our role.
01:52What risks is Taiwan facing that the country feels the need to put so many resources into
01:57disaster preparedness?
02:00Typhoons and earthquakes are unfortunately part of our geographic DNA, if you will.
02:06Second, we face a volatile and oppressive neighbor in the Chinese Communist Party.
02:14And third, we must also deal with the effects of extreme weather and climate change, just
02:20like everyone else.
02:22So putting all that together, we face a multitude and variety of risks, and that is why enhancing
02:28resilience is so important.
02:31Why might it be in the international community's interest to help Taiwan stay safe and stay
02:37free and open?
02:39We share many of the same risks, and we want each other to do well.
02:46And doing well means to be safe, safe from harm, safe from oppression, safe from coercion.
02:52And it means to be free, free to choose, free to live, and free to chart our own path.
02:57And so facing these common challenges, I think when each one of us is safe and free to thrive,
03:05we are all better off.