President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) chaired the sixth meeting of the Presidential Office’s “National Whole-Of-Society Defense Resilience Committee” on Tuesday, stressing the need to advance resilience as a legalized framework. He called for expanded social participation through cross-agency cooperation with civil society and education that grows resilience across generations. He also signaled a push for military-civil integration based on drills, to embed defense capacity in society. 

The president stated that the threat posed to Taiwan by hostile foreign forces continues to escalate. To more actively strengthen public resilience, he urged the Cabinet to implement a clear authorization mechanism under the principle of “central coordination, local implementation, and civilian collaboration,” encouraging every citizen to participate. Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) relayed, “We will initiate institutionalized work regarding the division of labor among ministries, the roles of local governments and authorizations for civilian participation, to ensure all ministries clearly understand their responsibilities, and also to enable non-governmental organizations, communities, and families to understand relevant actions when facing crises.”

The president noted that last year’s urban resilience exercises in 11 counties and cities barely touched on civil–military cooperation, and urged next year’s exercises to strengthen integrated training.

In his concluding remarks, President Lai described the objective of social resilience as a community that remains calm during blackouts, neighbours who help each other during disasters, citizens who discern misinformation, and industries that keep key supplies moving when disrupted. 

The random attack in Taipei on Friday has raised concerns about the government's National Public Safety Guide, known as the "orange book." In response, Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) announced that future resilience exercises will include random violence scenarios, and updates for public responses will be added next year, starting with an electronic version. The National Police Agency will also streamline violent-attack response methods, with the online guide set to be available on the official website after a security review, while physical copies will come in line with the 2026 budget.