National Security Bureau (NSB) Director General Lee Hsiang-chou (李翔宙) yesterday said his bureau would not use the popular free messaging service Line unless all doubts about its informational security integrity are addressed.
Lee was speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee, along with National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞), after comments by Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) on Tuesday that the Executive Yuan has instructed civil servants not to use Line to transmit sensitive and confidential information due to security concerns.
Jiang was responding to questions from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) about the possible information security dangers of using mobile devices from China’s Xiaomi Corp (小米) and foreign messaging applications.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
Lai said it had been revealed that Xiaomi’s operating system collects and transmits personal data to Beijing without permission, and asked whether the government is planning to ban the use of Xiaomi’s devices by its workers to prevent information leaks.
Jiang said the security issues concerning Xiaomi’s products would be looked into by the Ministry of Science and Technology and National Communications Commission, and that whether it would be banned would be evaluated and decided within the next three months.
Line has risks and the bureau will not use the application without resolution of such doubts, Lee said.
The NSB as a whole has not switched over to smartphones, instead using short message services (SMS), Lee added, saying the bureau also encouraged its staff to use the secure devices it provides them.
The bureau would be receiving a new shipment of secured mobile devices, which would aid in keeping sensitive information safe, Lee said.
For his part, Wang said that while his cellphone came with Line installed, he did not use it to discuss official matters.
Wang added that the NPA had earlier in the year told all relevant units that official matters should not be conducted using the application.
Separately at the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee meeting, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) called the Executive Yuan’s measure to ban the use of Line by civil servants at work “a move that follows China’s” because China last month issued new rules banning the app, among other messaging services.
Chiu, when questioning Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chih (王郁琦), said Line has not been reported to be problematic in terms of information security in other countries including the US. Only China has banned it, she said.
“The premier’s announcement of the ban seems to be following China’s,” she said.
According to Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) on Tuesday, the ban imposed by the Cabinet applies only to government PCs, which should be free of messaging programs such as Line and MSN, two of the most popular services in Taiwan. However, government workers’ personal mobile phones and computers would not be affected by the ban, Sun said.
Asked whether the ban includes WeChat, an app that uses a server in China, Sun yesterday said that no messaging apps are to be downloaded onto government PCs.
“As to government workers’ personal cellphones, we have no such restrictions, but only request their discretion in discussing official information with such apps,” he said.
Wang yesterday said the main consideration for the ban is that the apps use their servers in foreign countries, such as Line’s in South Korea and WeChat’s in China.
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
‘IRRESPONSIBLE’: Beijing’s constant disruption of the ‘status quo’ in the Taiwan Strait has damaged peace, stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region, MOFA said The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China’s launch of another military drill around Taiwan, saying such actions are a “unilateral provocation” that destabilizes regional peace and stability. China should immediately stop the irresponsible and provocative actions, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said, after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) yesterday announced the start of a new round of joint exercises around Taiwan by the army, navy and air force, which it said were approaching “from different directions.” Code-named “Justice Mission 2025,” the exercises would be conducted in the Taiwan Strait and in areas north, southwest, southeast and east of Taiwan
UNDER WAY: The contract for advanced sensor systems would be fulfilled in Florida, and is expected to be completed by June 2031, the Pentagon said Lockheed Martin has been given a contract involving foreign military sales to Taiwan to meet what Washington calls “an urgent operational need” of Taiwan’s air force, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The contract has a ceiling value of US$328.5 million, with US$157.3 million in foreign military sales funds obligated at the time of award, the Pentagon said in a statement. “This contract provides for the procurement and delivery of 55 Infrared Search and Track Legion Enhanced Sensor Pods, processors, pod containers and processor containers required to meet the urgent operational need of the Taiwan air force,” it said. The contract’s work would be
RSS