Hsiao Bi-khim (Hsiao, Vice President of Taiwan)

And I think that will also foster a stronger

capabilities and the will within our society and confidence in our society in our resilience.

Yes, that was recently implemented.

Well, politically it was not easy because we started the implementation right around our election time.

And when you mandate every citizen extra duties, that is never an easy political decision.

But it is something that we knew we had to do, given the geopolitical uncertainties and threats, in order to ensure that peace

can prevail, that we can sustain peace through strengthening ourselves.

We knew it was a difficult but a necessary decision.

And I think it's upon us to ensure that that extended training is meaningful, that they do get the quality training.

And so part of our partnership with the United States as we acquire more modern systems, how to use those systems and how to

operate in a rapidly changing environment, continuing these discussions is also very important.

Unfortunately, that has become a daily reality, something that is part of our lives.

That's something that we've been forced to live with, although completely undesirable.

But I think over the years, it's something that is not new to the Taiwanese people.

In fact, when we were having our first ever presidential election in 1996,

you know, after 37 years of martial law and one-party dictatorship, we finally, for the first time, could vote and elect our own leader.

And the Chinese responded to that with missile— firing missiles and military drills.

And so they've been doing this repeatedly over the years and unfortunately intensified recently.

So that is another reason why, again, we cannot take the status quo for granted, that we have to invest more in our defense.

We have to do more to make our society resilient.