Taiwan President Lai Ching-te has proposed a new international alliance intended to help government officials and non-governmental groups prepare together for disasters, extending a domestic resilience campaign that has developed over roughly five years.
Speaking at a forum in late September, Lai told 500 experts and guests that he was seeking “resilience through unity”. For Taiwan, the disasters under consideration include an attack or blockade by China. The president presented the alliance as an international element of preparations that already involve government agencies, military-civilian coordination, civilian groups and public education.
The announcement left several practical questions unanswered. The available details do not identify the alliance’s members, a formal name or charter, or a timetable for its launch. It is also unclear how it would work with Taiwan’s existing domestic structures, or whether it would differ substantially from current coordination efforts.
Taiwan’s whole-of-society defence effort began as Russia was gearing up for its war in Ukraine. The approach was later embedded in government policy in January 2022 under former president Tsai Ing-wen. Her Ministry of National Defense created its All-out Defense Mobilization Agency as part of that effort.
The programme has sought to widen preparedness beyond the military. In November 2025, Taiwan distributed the cartoon-style Case of Crisis: Taiwan’s National Public Safety Guide to 9.83 million households. The guide included advice on storing food and water and on finding shelter.
Civilian organisations have formed another part of the campaign. The Kuma Civil Defense Education Promotion Association was launched in 2021 to train civilians in emergency preparedness and awareness of cognitive warfare. Its Taipei-based chairperson is Wen Liu.
The Kuma Academy has said it received backing from a retired billionaire and had reached 100,000 people through hundreds of in-person courses. Those courses sit alongside the government’s efforts to encourage the public to consider how daily life and essential functions could continue during a crisis.
Lai formed a presidential office committee two years after the January 2022 policy step. Its task is to connect the government and wider society in learning how to maintain normal operations during attacks or natural disasters. The committee meets four times annually.
The new proposal suggests Lai wants to add foreign official and non-governmental participation to this domestic framework. Finland, Switzerland and Singapore have long used a whole-of-society approach, providing examples for Taiwan’s wider resilience planning.
Lai’s language at the forum focused on common preparation rather than the operational details of the alliance. Those details, including which governments or organisations may join, remain unknown. The immediate significance of the proposal lies in its effort to take Taiwan’s preparedness model beyond its own institutions and civil society.
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