The Legislative Yuan yesterday abolished the Act for Establishing the National Information Safety Center (國家資通安全科技中心設置條例), saying that the center created by the act was unsustainable and that the law gives no clear parameters on the powers the center was given.
The act concluded its third reading in December last year and was implemented in January. Its purpose was to boost the nation’s national information security capabilities and promote information security technology.
The motion calling for the termination of the center, initiated by the New Power Party (NPP), was given to cross-caucus negotiation yesterday morning, but the party caucuses were unable to come to an agreement.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Lin Te-fu (林德福) said it was evident that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) did not want the center and that the NPP wants the act repealed, adding that the KMT was not beholden to defend the act.
Lin said the KMT would abstain from voting after making a statement on the legislative floor.
The DPP is soon to come into “complete power,” with executive power and a legislative majority, and it should be held accountable, Lin said, adding that with no subsequent regulation or law being considered to replace the abolished act, the staff at the center would be hard to find again if released.
KMT Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏) urged legislators to consider the impact on the Legislative Yuan’s image if an act is repealed after less than six months and not even debated within the committees.
DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said the act had no parent law and the center had no legitimacy, adding that this would lead to uncertainty over how its power is used.
Kuan called that “a very scary thing,” and said the organization must not be allowed, adding: “Lin is not an expert on these things.”
NPP caucus convener Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said that the party’s stance on the issue was clear — the abolition of the act is to pave the way for a more complete and higher-level piece of legislation on information security.
NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has made a chaotic mess of Taiwan’s information security over the past eight years, adding that academics and government officials alike opposed an organization founded amid such chaos.
Huang said that the chaos and confusion caused by the act must end.
Following the abstention of the KMT caucus, the sitting legislature voted unanimously to abolish the act.
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