On November 22, 2025, a senior security official from Taiwan referred to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a true regional “troublemaker.” Amid escalating tensions across the Taiwan Strait, this official personally distributed the new edition of the “Taiwan Comprehensive National Security Guidelines” to Taiwanese citizens.
The handbook, which was released in September, for the first time includes instructions on how civilians should respond in the event of encountering enemy forces, and emphasizes that any claims of Taiwan surrender should be regarded as false information.
Lin Feifan, the Deputy Secretary-General of Taiwan’s National Security Council, is overseeing the implementation of this civil defense manual. As Beijing intensifies military and political pressure, insisting on “unifying” democratic Taiwan, this civil defense manual provides guidance to Taiwanese citizens on how to respond to natural disasters and potential threats of CCP military aggression.
According to Reuters, on Friday, Lin Feifan went door-to-door in a residential area in Taipei distributing the handbooks to residents. When asked about the increasingly tense situation in the Taiwan Strait, he told reporters, “The CCP is the real troublemaker in the entire regional geopolitics.”
He emphasized, “What we are doing now is ensuring that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait can be continued through all necessary means and the status quo will not be unilaterally disrupted.”
The CCP’s Taiwan Affairs Office on Wednesday (November 19) accused the “Taiwan Comprehensive National Security Guidelines” of attempting to “intimidate and coerce the Taiwanese people, spreading fear of war.”
In response, Taiwan’s Minister of National Defense, Gu Li-xiong, stated that the best way to counter cognitive warfare is to ensure that all Taiwanese citizens have the necessary knowledge and align with international standards. Regardless of whether the CCP is “happy” about it or not, this is what we should do. The government has also specially produced an English version of the “Taiwan Comprehensive National Security Guidelines” intending to distribute it to foreign nationals in Taiwan.
The Taiwan Ministry of National Defense reported that on Thursday, the CCP once again conducted “joint preparedness patrols” around Taiwan.
Taiwan’s military detected 29 flights of CCP military aircraft and 7 warships “continuing activities around Taiwan,” with 17 military aircraft crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entering the airspace over northern, central, and southwestern Taiwan. Reports from Taiwan indicate that Beijing conducts such provocative actions near Taiwan several times a month.
Lin Feifan mentioned that the CCP’s harassment of Japan and economic pressures have drawn attention from many allied countries in the region.
This month, tensions between Beijing and Tokyo have been escalating, with Japanese Prime Minister proposing that if the CCP launches an attack on Taiwan, it could affect Japan’s survival and potentially trigger a Japanese military response.
This statement immediately drew strong dissatisfaction from Beijing. The Chinese authorities promptly summoned the Japanese ambassador, advised their citizens not to travel to Japan temporarily, and subsequently took measures such as prohibiting the export of Japanese seafood to China.
Lin Feifan informed Taiwanese citizens who received the safety manual that Japan has Taiwan’s highest level of support.
On Thursday, President of Taiwan, Lai Ching-teh, posted a photo on social media of himself enjoying Japanese sushi to express support for Japan.
On Friday, Raymond F. Greene, Director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), shared a photo on Facebook of himself drinking sake with a senior official from the Taiwan Presidential Office.
In his post, Greene said, “Last night, I raised a glass of Japanese sake with Secretary-General Pan Meng-an (from the Presidential Office of the Republic of China), celebrating the warm and enduring friendship between the United States and Taiwan, as well as our collective strong support for Japan.”