Taiwan’s Presbyterian churches help civil defence efforts grow

Taiwan’s government has repeatedly made public statements about increasing its defence spending. Last year, it increased the mandatory conscription period and invested in new military hardware. Meanwhile, the US military continued funneling billions into its “drone-hellscape” plan for the Taiwan Strait and providing further billions in arms sales to Taipei. This occurred as Chinese military activity around the island continued to build, and Beijing refused to waver from its commitment to bringing Taiwan under its control.  

Civil defence training during Academia Formosana’s December civil defence exercise in central Taiwan. Credit: Academia Formosana

However, action at the grassroots level in Taiwan is also growing. Indigenous Taiwanese and former academic Ljavakaw Tjaljimaraw (謝易宏) is leading one of these efforts with his group, Academia Formosana. Perhaps unexpectedly, the group’s efforts are closely tied to one of Taiwan’s oldest Christian organizations, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT). 

I first interviewed Ljavakaw about the Academia Formosana civil defence project in 2023. He launched the project that July and delivered his first civil defence talk to a PCT congregation the following August. Intending to discuss the topic with the approximately 1,270 PCT congregations in Taiwan, he estimates he has delivered talks around 400 in the year and a half since. 

In December, Academia Formosana held its first civil defence training exercise for the public in central Taiwan. A group of 20 participants worked with several volunteers for a two-day exercise focusing on communication, first aid, and physical fitness in simulated wartime situations. 

The exercise was the first Academia Formosana made open to non-church members, though the event was held at a rural PCT property with the church’s support. Ljavakaw said all but one of the participants were non-Christians, and about half were members of existing local civil defence groups. 

Academia Formosana follows other local civil defence groups in offering training to members of the public. Taipei-based civil defence NGO Kuma Academy is a notable example, offering public courses on first aid, evacuation, war studies, and others. While Kuma Academy was established with a large grant from a private donor, many other more loosely organized community civil defence groups have popped up recently. 

Participants run drills during Academia Formosana’s December civil defence exercise in central Taiwan. Credit: Academia Formosana

“The local groups had developed civil defence knowledge over one or two years but didn’t have the opportunity to test it. They could apply it in this exercise,” Ljavakaw said. He was unwilling to provide specific details of the exercises (preferring to keep future recruits unaware of what they might experience) but described air raid drills, injury response, simulated “panicked ex-pats”, evacuations, and other activities. 

“With God’s grace, it was a success,” Ljavakaw said. God, and the PCT, are a core part of what drives Ljavakaw (who is also a church deacon) in his civil defence mission. 

“I would say the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan has the highest awareness of Taiwan’s situation,” Ljavakaw said. While Academia Formosana doesn’t receive regular donations from the church, its General Assembly sponsored the December exercise and provided the large rural venue where it was held. 

Missionaries established the PCT in the 19th century, before Japanese colonial rule (1895-1945), and the current Republic of China government retreated from mainland China in 1949. Many of Ljavakaw’s Indigenous Paiwan ethnicity are church members, and its strong networks throughout Taiwan have provided a basis for Academia Formosana to organize communities, particularly in remote Indigenous villages with unique civil defence challenges. 

The PCT strongly supports Taiwan’s self-determination and does not shy away from politics, recently supporting large-scale protests in response to controversial legal amendments that some perceived to be pro-China. 

“We are trying to use this island-wide church network as a resilience network, with the buildings, resources, and people of the Presbyterian Church to make disaster resilience centres for communities, for natural disasters and warfare,” Ljavakaw said. 

Ljavakaw Tjaljimaraw (3rd left), Taiwan President Lai Ching-te (3rd right), government officials, and Presbyterian leaders during an Academia Formosana civil defence event in September. Credit: Wang Yu Ching, Office of the President

Indigenous communities are an important part of building this network. Ljavakaw said when the group started sending information about its civil defence plans to presbyteries, Indigenous congregations responded more than others. 

“I think that Aboriginal people still have a stronger sense of community, and leaders have a strong sense of responsibility to their people,” he said. “Aboriginal people can be easily organized to follow the church leaders, this is the strength of their community.” 

Academia Formosana’s December exercise occurred as China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted military drills around Taiwan, which were widely regarded as a response to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s tour of the Pacific the previous month. 

On the tour, Lai visited Pacific island countries that continue to recognize the Republic of China (Taipei) as the legitimate government of China and do not have diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China (Beijing). He also visited Guam and spoke with US leaders, sparking angry responses from Beijing. 

The PLA military drills do not worry Academia Formosana, Ljavakaw said. “I’m very calm about this because it’s within our expectations. The PLA exercise doesn't surprise us, we know the war will come, so we prepare.” 

He clarified his belief that a cross-Taiwan Strait war is inevitable and that he does not think Taiwan’s leadership can change this. “We are only afraid that our preparations are too slow, but this is what we can do. We are limited as human beings.” 

Ljavakaw is aware his approach isn't the only one Taiwanese people think should be used in the face of rising tensions with China. In December, as Academia Formosana was drilling war responses and China’s PLA was conducting military drills around Taiwan, Taiwan’s former President Ma Ying-jeou was planning his third visit to mainland China in two years. 

Members of a Presbyterian Church consider civil defence plans at an Academia Formosana event. Credit: Academia Formosana

Ma, a member of the opposition political party the Kuomintang, seeks closer ties with Beijing and has repeatedly stated that all people in Taiwan and mainland China are Chinese. His views broadly represent the political philosophy of the Kuomintang, which identifies more closely with the Republic of China (Taiwan’s formal name), rather than a specifically Taiwanese identity. 

Some in the Kuomintang and other sectors of Taiwanese society maintain that increased defence spending and military preparedness antagonize China, increase the chance of war, and exacerbate ideological divisions. Beijing also holds this view. 

On the other hand, Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party has shown strong support for Ljavakaw’s work. In September, President Lai visited an Academia Formosana event and praised the group’s “plans to reduce potential casualties and property damage during disasters and conflict,” according to a government release at the time. 

Ljavakaw acknowledged Taiwan’s national identity is divided. Referring to the Kuomintang, he said, “They are doing their job, and we are doing ours,” and reiterated his view that war would come to Taiwan regardless of who was in charge. 

“(Ma) consistently tries to bring Taiwan back to China, and we are consistent too, we simply go in different directions. They think they are doing something right, correct, and noble. We are the same, but we just have different ideas.”

Banner image: A map of Presbyterian congregations in Pingtung County designed by Academia Formosana for civil defence planning. Credit: Jono Thomson

Asia Media Centre