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UN group ranks Taiwan seventh in digital equity

The International Telecommunica-tion Union (ITU) ranked Taiwan No. 7 in the world in its Digital Opportunity Index, an indication that the nation has made remarkable efforts in the field, according to Minister Without Portfolio Lin Ferng-ching (林逢慶).

The ITU, an international organization within the UN in which governments and the private sector coordinate global telecom networks and services, placed Taiwan seventh in its global Digital Opportunity Index which was issued in June, Lin said.

During an economic ministers and senior officials' meeting on May 31 sponsored by the APEC forum, attendees praised Taiwan's contribution to the APEC Digital Opportunity Center (ADOC), Lin said.

The Peruvian press have reported extensively on the assistance Taiwan gave that country in setting up an ADOC, and Peruvian Congress Speaker Antero Flores-Araoz sent a letter in May this year expressing his gratitude to APEC, Lin said.

Taiwan has also helped the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Chile and Papua New Guinea establish ADOCs in an effort to help those countries bridge the digital divide, he said.

ADOC is a non-profit organization funded by the Taiwanese government. It put forward the idea of transforming digital divides into digital opportunities at the 11th APEC economic leaders' meeting in Bangkok in 2003. It was initiated last year.

At home, the broadband coverage rate has reached 99.1 percent, close to the 99.6 percent target set for 2008, Lin said, noting that the government has refurbished facilities at 389 remote elementary and high schools nationwide and has opened 33 "digital opportunity centers" in areas hit by the Sept. 21, 1999, earthquake in Yunlin, Changhua, Pingtung and Penghu counties as well as Aboriginal communities around the country.

The government is aiming to bridge not only the digital divide but also the more enduring divide between the rich and the poor.

Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Administration donated 1,500 computers and the Ministry of Education gave away 1,000 second-hand computers to poor families in rural areas, Lin said.
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