The Executive Yuan yesterday announced plans to invest NT$46.056 billion (US$1.51 billion) over the next eight years to improve the nation’s digital infrastructure and bridge the rural-urban divide.
The plan — part of the government’s “Forward-looking Infrastructure Construction Project” — aims to improve rural access to broadband Internet, as well as develop a 5G mobile services network by 2020 and an Internet of Things (IoT) network.
Officials told a news conference they are aiming for 90 percent coverage of broadband services nationwide, with rural access speeds to be in the megabytes per second range.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
The plan also calls for enhancing information security, improving a disaster-relief communications system and developing a cloud-computing system for public education.
National Development Council Minister Chen Tain-jy (陳添枝) said that government investment in the expansion of broadband Internet would spur more investment from private enterprises, which is estimated to reach NT$238 billion.
National Communications Commission spokesman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said that the country has already stepped up preparations to activate a 5G network, adding that IoT technology would be the next major development.
“In the future, truly everything will be connected to the Internet,” Wong said.
Facilitating broadband access to rural communities is essential to safeguard the right to equal access for all, especially those who live in remote areas, Wong said.
Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) said that pervasive megabyte-speed Internet access is the trend, and rural communities cannot be left behind.
Officials said artists and other creative content producers would benefit from higher-speed broadband services, which would allow for the transmission of high-definition images and video content.
Government digital storage facilities will be upgraded to allow the storage of higher-definition content, while use of digital networks will be promoted among content producers.
The announcement described plans for promoting interest in technology by connecting schools to virtual classrooms and installing interactive systems at technology parks.
Officials said they hoped to foster interest in innovation and creative content design among students.
Minister Without Portfolio Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) said that Taiwan’s communications and technology industries used to place more emphasis on hardware, but the focus is now shifting to digital design.
The government hopes to see hardware, software and content be better integrated, Wu said, adding the future would see the promotion of such things as artificial intelligence and driverless cars.
Content and application services will grow increasingly important, Wu said.
Asked about IoT, Tang compared it with the development of air pollution and earthquake monitoring systems, which have become more accurate and efficient.
In the future all of the information people need will be available at once, which will boost the deployment of these technologies, Tang said.
Deputy Minister of Education Lin Teng-chiao (林騰蛟) said that he looks forward to using a portion of the new special budget to purchase new equipment for classrooms and install fiber Internet connections in schools.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS