Taiwan turns to companies in Ukraine for China contingency planning

By Yimou Lee

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan is learning from companies in Ukraine which continue to operate during the country's fight against Russia, a senior Taiwan official told Reuters on Wednesday, as the island speeds up contingency planning amid heightened Chinese threats.

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite the objection of the government in Taipei, and has ramped up its military pressure against the island in recent years, including holding several rounds of major war games.

"We hope to learn from Ukraine's first-hand experiences - how private companies helped build the resilience of its government and society during wartime," said a senior Taiwan security official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The official pointed to companies in Ukraine including Uber and Microsoft which continued to provide critical services.

Among the ideas Taiwan is taking inspirations from Ukraine for include how to incorporate supermarkets into the government's supply distribution network and utilising taxi services for medical emergencies such as blood donations when the health system is overwhelmed.

The official said the government was working to connect companies in Taiwan with their counterparts in Ukraine in order to help Taiwan firms quickly boost their contingency planning.

"We have the will to fight, and now we must also look closely into our will to prepare," the official said. Taiwan is revamping its air-raid alert and shelter systems, taking into account lessons by northern European countries and Baltic states, the official added.

A closed-door workshop on preparations including stockpiling and civil defence training was held in Taipei this week, which was attended by Taiwan security officials and senior diplomats from countries including the U.S., Japan and Australia.

Andy Hunder, who heads the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine and is a speaker at the workshop, told reporters the Taiwan government must establish backup online systems, pointing to Russian cyber attacks aimed at paralysing Ukraine infrastructure before the first missile attacks.

"What we have seen is that during World War Two, the safest place for critical infrastructure is down in the tunnels. Today, the safest infrastructure is in the clouds," Hunder said, adding payment services such as Mastercard and Visa continued to operate and ensured financial stability.

"Technology, banking, food, delivery, retail - how do you keep the economy running?" he said when asked how the Taiwan government should prepare itself.

(Reporting by Yimou Lee in Taipei; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)