TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan is gearing up for the 2025 Urban Resilience Exercises (2025城鎮韌性演習) in March, which will merge the Wan An (萬安) and Min An (民安) civil defense drills for the first time. The exercises aim to bolster society's operational capabilities during wars or major disasters without relying on military support.
Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), director of the Division of National Security Research at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (國防院), highlighted that the drills included practical exercises for stabilizing key infrastructure such as power distribution and medical facilities. The Ministry of the Interior (MOI, 內政部) plans to establish regional disaster collaboration centers in 368 townships, integrating a 400,000-strong civilian force to enhance local disaster response.
Shao Pei-chun (邵珮君), a professor at Ming Chuan University's (銘傳大學) Department of Urban Design and Disaster Management, emphasized the need for the public to understand different evacuation preparations for natural and wartime disasters. "The approaches to handling natural and wartime disasters differ," Shao said, underscoring the importance of situational awareness.
Lu De-yun (盧德允), a former inspector for the Ministry of National Defense (MND, 國防部), pointed out that the government should look into the participation rate of civilians during such drills. In transforming the focus slogans of these exercises into concepts that the public can absorb, Lu predicted that the change would increase participation willingness and psychological preparedness.