Why supporting Taiwan matters

A vibrant democracy and home to more than 23 million people, Taiwan is a key strategic partner of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region. Most notably, it sits less than 100 miles from its neighbor, the People’s Republic of China. Chinese President Xi Jinping has stated that China “will never promise to give up the use of force” to achieve “unification” with Taiwan. The Chinese military regularly conducts exercises off the coast of Taiwan.

Chinese military exercise zones surrounding Taiwan in August 2022 (Map by OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia maps contributors).

In addition to the security threat that Taiwan faces every day, it is confronted by natural disasters. A 1999 earthquake caused widespread damage across the island and resulted in the injury or death of over 12,000 people and damaged or destroyed over 17,000 structures. More recent disasters, such as the Hualien mudslide in September 2025, continue to demonstrate the critical role Taiwan’s first responders play in a crisis.

For the Taiwanese people to preserve and protect their way of life, its people need the training, skills, and resilience to deter, respond to, or recover from any crisis that could come their way.

Protecting Taiwan is protecting ourselves: Taiwan is a critical part of the global economy and our ninth-largest trading partner — as of 2024, 24 U.S. states maintain representative trade offices in Taiwan. Taiwan produces over 90% of the world’s most advanced semiconductor microchips, supplying companies such as Apple and Nvidia, and Taiwan is investing billions of dollars into semiconductor and high-tech manufacturing in the United States.

In addition to the trade ties, Taiwan is a vibrant democracy. Taiwanese society embraces the same ideals Americans live by: free trade, a robust press and civil society, and individual liberty. Taiwan faces daunting threats daily, and the Taiwanese people are taking serious measures to prepare, train, and be ready for crisis if crisis comes. Spirit of America is proud to support these efforts and show that the American people stand with the Taiwanese people.

What does Spirit of America’s support in Taiwan look like?

As a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and pioneer of national security philanthropy, Spirit of America is building relationships between Taiwanese civil society and government to fill gaps between what government can do and what is needed. Working closely alongside the American Institute of Taiwan, we move with flexibility and speed to fulfill identified needs that are crucial to supporting U.S.-Taiwan initiatives. As the United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Spirit of America plays a critical role supporting the overall U.S.-Taiwan relationship.

Below are two examples of our ongoing work to support Taiwanese civil society and government:

Survivable communications
In an emergency, traditional methods of communication like landlines or cellular networks can be jammed, destroyed, or simply overwhelmed. Our Taiwanese partner Forward Alliance is currently working to test and develop a redundant mesh network to strengthen domestic and international lines of communication. Mesh communications networks rely on a distributed set of independent, connected nodes that efficiently route data. The distributed nature of the system results in a durable network that is resistant to failure or interference.

Forward Alliance volunteer using communications during a training exercise (Photo by Fides for Spirit of America).

During Taiwan’s disaster readiness exercise in September 2025, Forward Alliance demonstrated to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te of the utility of mesh networks and how they can be employed to push information and logistics requirements on behalf of civil society in support of government in emergencies.

Forward Alliance intends to develop this capability to support domestic and international information connectivity by building out a mesh network, training volunteers on assembly and management, and testing coverage across urban, rural, and mountainous terrain.

Spirit of America is supporting the acquisition of equipment that will be used to train volunteers, test and evaluate node placement, and provide needed feedback and analysis on mesh network expansion requirements. Upon completion of this project, Forward Alliance will be able to extend this capability across Taiwan.

A national first responder drone program
In partnership with Taiwan’s National Fire Agency (NFA), Spirit of America is helping Taiwan build a national drone program for first responders. While drones are already used in some areas, training and standards vary, making coordination challenging. Through this initiative, Spirit of America is helping train a core group of instructors and establish a standardized system for disaster response, helping to ensure that teams across Taiwan can operate in a consistent and scalable way — strengthening Taiwan’s ability to respond to crises effectively.

Through a “train-the-trainer” model led by Taiwan’s NFA and facilitated by a unique partnership between the state of Oregon and Taiwan, two dozen instructors were certified in U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology-based flight standards, curriculum, and equipment. They then returned home, prepared to scale a national UAS training pipeline across Taiwan’s first responder system.

A U.S. instructor assists Taiwanese first responders with drone flight (Photo by Jolene Fischer for Spirit of America).

Through this ongoing initiative, Taiwan will have a national-level instructor network capable of teaching standardized drone operations across the country. Spirit of America will facilitate the travel of U.S. experts to Taiwan to review the established training curriculum and evaluate the NFA training facilities. This will lead to more coordinated disaster response, improved search and rescue operations, and better situational awareness. Over time, it will strengthen Taiwan’s ability to handle complex crises while keeping essential services running — a key part of a stable, resilient society.

Lasting impact

Spirit of America’s support for a vibrant network of civil society organizations working with government have resulted in over 26,000 citizens and 100 organizations trained in emergency casualty care, search and rescue, communications, and navigation, and over 6 million individuals learning about how to help their communities in times of crisis via online education. Forward Alliance, one of these civil society organizations, activated its volunteer teams to assist in the recovery from the damage from Typhoon Ragasa in September 2025.

Forward Alliance volunteers responding to the aftermath of Super Typhoon Ragasa in Hualien County (Photo by Forward Alliance).

Thanks to Spirit of America’s support, Taiwan’s National Fire Agency (NFA) established a Tactical Emergency Casualty Care training program that helps train first responders on casualty management during operations in adverse conditions. We have also assisted the NFA’s pilot of a national model for community emergency response, T-CERT, based on the U.S. FEMA Civilian Emergency Response Team model. As of May 2025, more than 195 teams had been trained across Taiwan; additional teams continue to launch, with a target of least 320 being operational by 2029. Building on this work, broader government efforts in emergency response have resulted in approximately 100,000 civilians receiving training to date.

Forward Alliance volunteers practice casualty evacuation in urban environments (Photo by Fides for Spirit of America).

And our support for Taiwan’s first national first responder drone program will allow the NFA to scale a national training pipeline across 22 fire departments and 700 fire stations, ultimately impacting 15,000 first responders in Taiwan.

Additional examples of our work in action

Here are a few examples of our past work in Taiwan:

Supporting training efforts
Taiwan’s National Police Agency (NPA) plays a key role in protecting critical infrastructure. To strengthen this capability, the Ministry of the Interior established the new advanced training pipelines. However, the programs lacked dedicated instructors and essential training equipment, limiting realistic, hands-on instruction. These gaps reduce training effectiveness and slow the development of mission-ready personnel.

Spirit of America provided individual equipment sets to support candidates and instructors throughout training. This enables more realistic, practical instruction and improves course execution. The project also supported the procurement of T-CERT equipment for the Chiayi County Fire Department to support train-the-trainer emergency response programs.

Emergency kits and training materials support volunteer teams as they prepare to provide basic assistance during the early stages of a disaster (Photo by Taiwan National Fire Agency).

This project improves operational readiness by enabling higher-quality training and stronger critical thinking among NPA personnel and accelerates Taiwan’s ability to develop capable forces and enhances interoperability with U.S. partners. This expanded training capacity contributes to long-term resilience in protecting critical infrastructure. The additional T-CERT component also strengthens civilian emergency response, equipping local teams to train others and improve life-saving capabilities across communities.

Countering misinformation
In partnership with independent digital media organization Watchout, Spirit of America is helping people in Taiwan better understand and respond to efforts to influence public opinion through false or misleading information. By combining social media content, community workshops, public education, and outreach through trusted community spaces, the initiative aims to give people practical ways to pause, verify information, and think critically before sharing.

Combating foreign information manipulation and interference in Taiwan (Graphic by Watchout).

Through this initiative, Spirit of America is supported a more informed Taiwan by:

• Creating articles, videos, infographics, and comics that explain common information manipulation tactics in simple ways
• Testing community-based outreach methods and developing an online resource hub with practical guidance and tools
• Supporting workshops that help people discuss and respond to misleading information in their communities
• Promoting a simple “Stop–Look–Listen” approach to help people evaluate information before sharing it

The campaign reached more than 2.8 million people and generated more than 1.4 million video views, showing strong public interest in content that made complex topics easier to understand. The initiative also helped build stronger connections across Taiwan bringing together local organizations, educators, researchers, and international partners.

Community outreach showed that trusted, everyday spaces can help people engage with difficult topics in a practical and non-political way. One element of the campaign, which used pharmacies as trusted community spaces to share simple, practical information with people who may be less likely to engage with online content, reached nearly 150 locations and distributed more than 115,000 educational materials, helping extend the campaign far beyond digital audiences.

This is a critical time for Taiwan and its friends to demonstrate a commitment to its democracy. By helping Taiwan show it is prepared for any crisis, we can help Taiwan prevent disaster and preserve its way of life.