In addition to the Taiwanese government’s efforts to carry out reforms and increase the country’s defense budget, the growing threat from China has made Taiwanese society more mindful of its own security. Since last year, there have been several non-governmental endeavors to boost Taiwan’s civil defense. Among these initiatives, the Kuma Academy, or “Black Bear Academy,” has attracted the most attention. Co-founded by Puma Shen, a world-leading expert on misinformation, the academy is devoted to preparing 3 million Taiwanese citizens within three years in areas such as cognitive warfare, introductory modern warfare, wartime first aid, and evacuation drills. There are also several other NGOs running similar programs on various scales.

While public support for self-defense has increased, low trust in the Taiwanese military and doubts about U.S. military assistance could overshadow this positive development.

In Taiwan's nine-in-one election that just ended, the DPP lost a lot of land. In the capital city of Taipei, Chen Shizhong, who was favored at the beginning of the nomination, was reversed by Jiang Wanan of the Kuomintang; big cities such as Taoyuan, Keelung, and Hsinchu, whose municipalities were rated as five-star by the media, were unable to continue to govern, and the result shocked Taiwan's political circles.

Voters turned against the ruling DPP due to their dissatisfaction with the party’s domestic performance, not because of their love for China.

Taiwan held local elections for mayor/county magistrates and city council members on November 26. As many had predicted, the ruling party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), did not fare well. The number of DPP-controlled cities and counties narrowed further, from six to five, and its vote share drooped by around 5 percent compared to the party’s performance in the last midterm election in 2018.

The 2022 local elections are also the day when a referendum on constitutional amendments for 18-year-old citizens will be held. Although this referendum was unanimously approved by all parties in the Legislative Yuan, President Tsai Ing-wen strongly appealed before the election, and the former Kuomintang opponent Han Guoyu also shouted for it the day before the election. The final result of the referendum was 5.65 million votes in favor and more than 5.02 million votes against votes, but because it is far below the threshold of 9 million (a total of 18 million legitimate voters, half of which need to come out to vote in favor), the referendum case did not pass.

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen said Monday there is “no room for compromise” over the self-ruled island’s sovereignty but she is willing to work with China to find “mutually acceptable ways” to maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait.

On September 12, the Brookings Global Forum on Democracy and Technology will host a symposium to address these and other questions.