The government will help the domestic software industry develop operating systems to challenge the dominance of Microsoft Corp in the sector, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-hsiang (施顏祥) said yesterday.
To achieve this, the government has set up an information and communication development task force under the Executive Yuan, Shih said while fielding questions from lawmakers yesterday at the Legislative Yuan.
"Both the Industrial Development Bureau and the Industrial Technology Department [under the Ministry of Economic Affairs] have plans to encourage local software firms to develop new operating systems and other word-processing software," Shih said.
During the question-and-answer session yesterday, several lawmakers, including Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) of the PFP and Chiu Tsui-chen (邱垂貞) of the DPP, criticized government agencies for letting Microsoft develop a monopoly in the software used in the public sector.
They said some government agencies, such as the Ministry of Justice and the Fair Trade Commission, are publishing documents on their Web sites using Microsoft software, which has forced the public to use the same software to read them.
The lawmakers said that in the US and Japan, official Web sites use cross-platform text files to make it easier for the public to download information.
The Software Liberty Association of Taiwan, a group promoting free software, yesterday added to the debate over Microsoft's dominance in software, calling on the government to help create an information-exchange environment by supporting the development of "free software communities."
"The government should offer hardware support, such as broadband communication facilities and public servers ... while educational authorities should include free software-instruction programs in information-technology education," the association said.
Many people use only a small proportion of the functions available on their office software, it said. Many are also ignorant of the availability of software not made by the mainstream software manufacturers, it continued.
In response, the economics ministry will support the development of an open-source model -- much like the Linux operating system -- and promote the use of locally developed software, Shih said.
The Cabinet-level Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, Taipei Computer Association and the Taiwan Linux User Group co-sponsored a seminar introducing free software on May 13-14.
Lawmaker Chou also demanded that the Cabinet-level Fair Trade Commission complete an investigation within six months on whether the Taiwan unit of Microsoft has abused its market dominance to manipulate prices.
According to Chou, in Taiwan, Microsoft software systems such as Windows XP and Office are more expensive than similar systems from other manufacturers.
Moreover, the prices of Microsoft systems are much higher in Taiwan than they are in China, Japan and the US, he said.
Microsoft's dominance of Taiwan's software market became the focus of public attention after a large-scale anti-piracy crackdown in mid-March revealed the extremely high market penetration rate of the international software giant.
Teachers and students have taken exception to the government's crackdown and severe penalties on those using unlicensed software programs. They say certain software manufacturers are gouging users by charging unreasonable prices.
Taking matters into their own hands, 10 junior high schools from Taipei and Ilan counties will begin an effort to break the Microsoft monopoly on campuses by forming the Free Software Teaching Coalition starting Aug. 1.
Meanwhile, Fu Ying Junior High School has decided to replace the Microsoft systems initially installed in its 200 computers with Linux and Openoffice, becoming the first school in Taiwan to use Linux.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from