Taiwan is being pushed to learn directly from Ukraine's wartime experience as it builds up civil defense — a positive sign for Taiwan's readiness, but a reminder that the China threat is being treated as real and near-term.

• At a presidential forum in Taipei, US experts told Taiwan to "Taiwanify" foreign resilience models rather than copy them, and to send people to Ukraine to build ties and learn.
• Ukraine's lesson: public morale rises and falls in cycles, dipping in winter and after attacks on civilian services, so the government must react to those swings rather than rely on a fixed level of readiness.
• A former FEMA official said Taiwan's strongest asset is bottom-up community trust and grassroots preparedness, with top-down institutions and backup communications coming second.
• Ukraine waited too long to prepare because many assumed the worst would not happen; Taiwan is already planning at the national level, putting it well ahead of where Ukraine was before the invasion.
• Russia is now using drones to threaten trains leaving Kyiv, a new tactic to scare Ukrainians and foreign supporters from traveling in and out of the country.

Outlook: Taiwan is expected to deepen exchanges with Ukraine on modern battlefield changes, training, and morale management, though it has not yet set up those direct links.