Representative Yao Jin-Hsiang visits UK Parliament to share Taiwan's defense resilience construction
Taiwan's Representative to the UK, Yao Jin-Hsiang, shared Taiwan's efforts in building all-society defense resilience at the invitation of the UK Parliament's Joint Committee on National Security and Strategic Defence. He emphasized Taiwan's determination to resist aggression and presented the "Taiwan's All-Society Defense Resilience Guidelines." The discussion also covered aspects like the definition of resilience, budget allocation, public dialogue, public-private cooperation, combating disinformation, and supply chain vulnerability. Taiwan aims to increase its defense budget and has established a dedicated committee, with upcoming resilience exercises and ongoing cooperation with the UK through the GCTF framework.
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- 📰 Published: April 21, 2026 at 05:59
- 🔍 Collected: April 21, 2026 at 06:31 (32 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 21, 2026 at 06:33 (1 min after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency, London, April 20th) - Taiwan's Representative to the United Kingdom, Yao Jin-Hsiang, today accepted an invitation from the UK Parliament's Joint Committee on National Security and Strategic Defence to share Taiwan's efforts in building all-society defense resilience. He presented the "Taiwan's All-Society Defense Resilience Guidelines," known as the "Little Orange Book," emphasizing Taiwan's determination to resist aggression.
The "Taiwan's All-Society Defense Resilience Guidelines," released by the Ministry of National Defense last September, explicitly states that "any information about the nation's defeat or the government announcing surrender is disinformation." Yao Jin-Hsiang pointed out that this is to emphasize to the Taiwanese public that the government will continue to fight and resist aggression, "no matter what happens."
The UK Parliament's National Security and Strategic Defence Joint Committee launched an investigation themed "Societal Resilience" and held its first hearing today, unusually inviting Taiwan's highest-ranking diplomat in the UK to testify and answer questions.
The National Security Strategy Committee, composed of members of both the UK Parliament's upper and lower houses, is considered a "heavyweight" committee, with members including the chairs of the defense, foreign affairs, trade, and home affairs committees.
The committee extensively questioned Yao Jin-Hsiang today on a wide range of topics, such as Taiwan's definition of "societal resilience"; the sources and allocation of related budgets; and how the government engages with the public on security and defense issues, while raising public awareness without causing panic.
Additionally, questions covered the roles and collaboration of civil society, local governments, and businesses in all-society defense resilience; how public and private sectors can cooperate to combat disinformation while respecting freedom of speech and media independence; how to reduce supply chain vulnerability; and how to verify the practical effectiveness of the "Taiwan's All-Society Defense Resilience Guidelines."
Yao Jin-Hsiang stated that Taiwan's defense budget is projected to exceed 3% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the end of this year, with a target of reaching 5% of GDP by 2030. Considering Taiwan is approximately the 20th largest economy globally, "5% of GDP" is a substantial figure. However, in Taiwan, "societal resilience" draws from numerous budget sources, with the defense budget being just one of them.
Yao Jin-Hsiang also shared that Taiwan established the All-Society Defense Resilience Committee in June 2024. He outlined the committee's six main axes of work: resilience of command and control systems (decentralized, unbroken chain); training and utilization of civil forces; inventory and distribution of strategic and essential civilian supplies; maintenance and operation of energy and critical infrastructure; preparation of social welfare, medical care, and shelters; and cybersecurity of information, transport, and financial networks.
Yao Jin-Hsiang mentioned that the All-Society Defense Resilience Committee mobilizes public and private sector resources through wargaming and practical drills to validate the capabilities and resilience of various units and individuals in "realistic" scenarios, aiming to identify problems early and find optimal solutions. The goal is to enable effective coordination among the military, the public, and governments at all levels to maintain core functions of society, government, and critical infrastructure once a crisis strikes.
To strengthen Taiwan's overall defense resilience, Taiwan will hold "Town Resilience" (All-People Defense Mobilization) exercises this year, starting in Changhua County on the 22nd. Over the next four months, 11 local governments are planned to be included, in conjunction with the annual Han Kuang military exercise.
Yao Jin-Hsiang pointed out that the exercises will include an assessment group to score participating units, allowing the public to witness the performance of each local government. Additionally, foreign experts will be invited to Taiwan as observers. These exercises are intended to become institutionalized and normalized.
Yao Jin-Hsiang noted that enhancing self-defense capabilities and demonstrating the will to resist are key elements of effective "deterrence," and effective deterrence promotes peace. This is also a major focus of "strategic communication" between the government and the public.
Regarding whether increased public awareness of security threat patterns might lead to unnecessary panic, Yao Jin-Hsiang shared Taiwan's experience, stating that the government attempts to communicate with the public in an understandable and relatable manner, and to disclose changes in security threats from China as openly as possible. As the public gains awareness of security threats, they also observe the government's grasp of the situation and its response measures, which helps build trust and confidence, prompting the public to further consider "what they can do."
Yao Jin-Hsiang also mentioned that in building all-society defense resilience, Taiwan cooperates with the UK, including through the Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) mechanism, jointly organizing workshops and conferences attended by UK government officials and experts. The UK became a "formal partner" of the GCTF last November. (Editor: Lu Ying-tzu) 1150421
(Central News Agency, London, April 20th) - Taiwan's Representative to the United Kingdom, Yao Jin-Hsiang, today accepted an invitation from the UK Parliament's Joint Committee on National Security and Strategic Defence to share Taiwan's efforts in building all-society defense resilience. He presented the "Taiwan's All-Society Defense Resilience Guidelines," known as the "Little Orange Book," emphasizing Taiwan's determination to resist aggression.
The "Taiwan's All-Society Defense Resilience Guidelines," released by the Ministry of National Defense last September, explicitly states that "any information about the nation's defeat or the government announcing surrender is disinformation." Yao Jin-Hsiang pointed out that this is to emphasize to the Taiwanese public that the government will continue to fight and resist aggression, "no matter what happens."
The UK Parliament's National Security and Strategic Defence Joint Committee launched an investigation themed "Societal Resilience" and held its first hearing today, unusually inviting Taiwan's highest-ranking diplomat in the UK to testify and answer questions.
The National Security Strategy Committee, composed of members of both the UK Parliament's upper and lower houses, is considered a "heavyweight" committee, with members including the chairs of the defense, foreign affairs, trade, and home affairs committees.
The committee extensively questioned Yao Jin-Hsiang today on a wide range of topics, such as Taiwan's definition of "societal resilience"; the sources and allocation of related budgets; and how the government engages with the public on security and defense issues, while raising public awareness without causing panic.
Additionally, questions covered the roles and collaboration of civil society, local governments, and businesses in all-society defense resilience; how public and private sectors can cooperate to combat disinformation while respecting freedom of speech and media independence; how to reduce supply chain vulnerability; and how to verify the practical effectiveness of the "Taiwan's All-Society Defense Resilience Guidelines."
Yao Jin-Hsiang stated that Taiwan's defense budget is projected to exceed 3% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the end of this year, with a target of reaching 5% of GDP by 2030. Considering Taiwan is approximately the 20th largest economy globally, "5% of GDP" is a substantial figure. However, in Taiwan, "societal resilience" draws from numerous budget sources, with the defense budget being just one of them.
Yao Jin-Hsiang also shared that Taiwan established the All-Society Defense Resilience Committee in June 2024. He outlined the committee's six main axes of work: resilience of command and control systems (decentralized, unbroken chain); training and utilization of civil forces; inventory and distribution of strategic and essential civilian supplies; maintenance and operation of energy and critical infrastructure; preparation of social welfare, medical care, and shelters; and cybersecurity of information, transport, and financial networks.
Yao Jin-Hsiang mentioned that the All-Society Defense Resilience Committee mobilizes public and private sector resources through wargaming and practical drills to validate the capabilities and resilience of various units and individuals in "realistic" scenarios, aiming to identify problems early and find optimal solutions. The goal is to enable effective coordination among the military, the public, and governments at all levels to maintain core functions of society, government, and critical infrastructure once a crisis strikes.
To strengthen Taiwan's overall defense resilience, Taiwan will hold "Town Resilience" (All-People Defense Mobilization) exercises this year, starting in Changhua County on the 22nd. Over the next four months, 11 local governments are planned to be included, in conjunction with the annual Han Kuang military exercise.
Yao Jin-Hsiang pointed out that the exercises will include an assessment group to score participating units, allowing the public to witness the performance of each local government. Additionally, foreign experts will be invited to Taiwan as observers. These exercises are intended to become institutionalized and normalized.
Yao Jin-Hsiang noted that enhancing self-defense capabilities and demonstrating the will to resist are key elements of effective "deterrence," and effective deterrence promotes peace. This is also a major focus of "strategic communication" between the government and the public.
Regarding whether increased public awareness of security threat patterns might lead to unnecessary panic, Yao Jin-Hsiang shared Taiwan's experience, stating that the government attempts to communicate with the public in an understandable and relatable manner, and to disclose changes in security threats from China as openly as possible. As the public gains awareness of security threats, they also observe the government's grasp of the situation and its response measures, which helps build trust and confidence, prompting the public to further consider "what they can do."
Yao Jin-Hsiang also mentioned that in building all-society defense resilience, Taiwan cooperates with the UK, including through the Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) mechanism, jointly organizing workshops and conferences attended by UK government officials and experts. The UK became a "formal partner" of the GCTF last November. (Editor: Lu Ying-tzu) 1150421