While overseeing the "New Taipei City 2026 Urban Resilience (National Defense Mobilization) Exercise" this morning (13th), President Lai Ching-te said that through joint efforts, the central and local cooperation, and the government and the private sector, we can continue to strengthen social resilience, maintain government operations when situations occur, and reduce the impact on people's lives. The President also pointed out that an air defense drill will be held this afternoon, hoping that the drill will increase resilience, make society more stable, and have less impact on people's lives.

After arriving, the president inspected Shuanghe Hospital's medical load reduction and undergrounding drills, as well as the people's livelihood supplies distribution drill, and learned about the situation of people receiving supplies on site.

In his speech, the President said that Taiwan experiences typhoons every year and may also experience earthquakes every few years. In addition to building up the military to prepare for war and safeguarding national security, the National Army has also been involved in disaster relief work and maintaining social stability for many years. It regards disaster relief work in response to natural disasters and earthquakes as an important part of building up the military and preparing for war. In addition, local governments also conduct social resilience drills every year for disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes, which are also known as Wan'an drills and civil safety drills in the past.

The President mentioned that after taking office as the President, in addition to establishing the "Society Defense Resilience Committee" in the Presidential Palace to promote social resilience, he also merged the Wan'an Exercise and the Civil Security Exercise conducted by local governments into the "Urban Resilience Exercise." This year, the number of exercise days was increased from one to two days, and the exercises were conducted in conjunction with the most important annual Hankuang exercise of the national army. Under the same situation, the national army stands on the front line and conducts military exercises, while local governments conduct social defense resilience exercises. The purpose is to hope that the national army will protect national security, and local governments and civil society organizations will work together to maintain social stability. In the future, whether there are natural disasters or geopolitical conflicts, the impact on society will be minimized.

The President pointed out that this year, he made a special trip to New Taipei City to inspect the operation of the whole-society defense resilience exercise. The first stop was to inspect the "Joint Response Command and Control Center", the second stop was to inspect the emergency medical preparation status, and the third stop was to the people's livelihood supplies distribution station. Special thanks to Mayor Hou Youyi for the proper preparations of the city government team, and the cooperation between the central and local governments, which achieved good results.

The President mentioned that the government has just guided the distribution system of people's livelihood resources. The government has not only public distribution stations, but also distribution stations in private stores, which are carried out in a dual-track manner. At the same time, the smart system has also been completed and drills are being continued for various possible situations. This is a very remarkable achievement.

The president said that with the joint efforts of everyone, the cooperation between the central and local governments, and the government and the private sector, social resilience work can continue to be strengthened. When a situation occurs, it will have better resilience to maintain the continuous operation of the government and reduce the impact on people's lives.

The President pointed out that an air defense drill will be conducted from 2:30 to 3 pm today. In the cities where the exercise is conducted, mobile communications may be affected, speeds may slow down, and access may be inconvenient. However, we ask for your understanding and support as this is a necessary exercise. When we practice more, we will be more resilient; when we are more resilient, when something happens, society will be more stable and our lives will be less impacted.

Finally, the President thanked the National Security Council and the Executive Yuan ministries for their hard work, and said that diplomats from various countries stationed in Taiwan also participated in the exercise today and gave advice, which shows that Taiwan's security and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are issues of great concern to the international community. "Virtue is never isolated, it must have neighbors." Facing the changes in regional geopolitics, we do not face it alone, but the international community cares about and faces it together. However, we must not be unprepared for this, nor can we simply rely on outsiders. Mayor Hou Youyi also mentioned just now, "You are not afraid of nothing happening for a hundred years, but you are afraid of being unprepared for a day." If we adhere to this spirit and make all preparations, we will not be afraid of anything happening. The better prepared we are, the better we can naturally avoid things from happening. Let’s cheer together.

Including New Taipei City Mayor and New Taipei City Joint Response Command and Control Center Hou Youyi, National Security Council Secretary-General Wu Zhaoxie, Advisory Committee Member Liu Dejin, Deputy Secretary-General Lin Feifan, Executive Yuan Political Affairs Councilor Ji Liancheng, Interior Minister Liu Shifang, Foreign Minister Lin Jialong, Minister of Defense Gu Lixiong, Minister of Health and Welfare Shi Chongliang, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs Lai Jianxin, Undersecretary of the Interior Ma Shiyuan, Director of the National Defense Mobilization Agency of the Ministry of National Defense Liao Jianxing, Director of the Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Raymond Gu Greene, Marie-Louise Hannan, representative of the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei, Israel Strulov, representative of the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, and representatives of diplomatic envoys from various countries in Taiwan also attended the exercise.