Today, we’d like to update you on our work helping a democracy stand tall in the face of relentless threats against its way of life.

That democracy is Taiwan, a close friend of the United States in the Asia-Pacific. The Taiwanese people believe that the best way to prevent a crisis is to demonstrate preparedness. We agree. To help Taiwan demonstrate it is prepared to address any natural disaster or potential conflict, Spirit of America has helped organizations in Taiwan train over 8,000 civilians in crisis response. By supporting our Taiwanese partners, we seek to help them preserve peace, security, and Taiwan’s democratic way of life.

Over the last year, we have been working with partners in Taiwan, including the civil society organization Forward Alliance and the National Fire Agency, to pilot a new Taiwan Community Emergency Response Team (T-CERT) program of civilians trained in emergency casualty care, search and rescue, communications, and navigation skills.

From September 17-21, we joined our partners and 200 volunteers to publicly launch T-CERT as part of Taiwan’s National Disaster Prevention Day exercises. With the world watching, the all-volunteer teams demonstrated their new capabilities to international observers and high-level attendees including Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, who thanked Spirit of America for its support to Taiwan.

This is a critical time for Taiwan and its allies to demonstrate a commitment to democracy. Over the next few months, we will update you on these initiatives, as well as other ways Spirit of America is helping Taiwan prevent a crisis.

With your support, we can help Taiwan’s democracy stand tall.