The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a multibillion-dollar plan to build a digital infrastructure nationwide and develop the digital economy, in a bid to bolster the annual output of the digital sector to NT$6.5 trillion (US$203.6 billion) by 2025.
The government plans to launch the nine-year “DIGI-plus” program next year to build a digital infrastructure, create an innovation-friendly environment for the digital industry and increase Internet usage penetration to secure people’s right to Internet access, Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.
The government’s goal is to achieve a download speed of 1 terabit per second (Tbps) for fixed-line broadband services by 2020 and 2Tbps by 2025, Executive Yuan Board of Science and Technology Executive Secretary Kuo Yau-hwang (郭耀煌) said.
To ensure the rights of economically disadvantaged people to access the Internet, they will be provided with broadband services with download speeds of 10 megabits per second (Mbps) by 2020 and 25Mbps by 2025.
The program is aimed at raising the overall usage rate of digital services from 25.8 percent to 80 percent by 2025 to boost the nation’s technology readiness to the top six in the world.
People have to use various digitized services in all aspects of daily life, such as education, medical services, transportation, leisure and dining, to be qualified as a user of digital services, Kuo said.
The program is to ensure that people have equal access to information and communications technology to bridge the digital divide amid the exponential growth of information technology, while increased penetration and Internet usage rates can help narrow the regional development gap, Kuo said.
“Taiwan’s information and communications technology industry has a strong global presence and is a major provider for consumers worldwide, but it is a relatively small player in improving the livelihood of Taiwanese,” Kuo said. “Information and communications infrastructure and innovations have to be integrated into regional development to narrow gaps and improve people’s lives.”
The DIGI plus program will be allocated NT$11 billion next year and an annual budget of NT$20 billion thereafter, Minister without Portfolio Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) said.
“[The budget] exhibits a conceptual shift. We have understood infrastructure solely as physical constructions, such as roads and bridges, but Premier Lin Chuan (林全) has said that ‘soft infrastructure’ has to be taken into account to build a digital nation,” Wu said.
Hsu added that Lin has asked the Cabinet to create an open government by making public government data and broadening public participation with online and face-to-face engagement platforms.
A National Development Council initiative allows Internet users to petition the government over public issues and legislation via an online platform, as a government agency is obliged to respond to an online petition endorsed by more than 5,000 Internet users, an example of open government that has led to the passing of several pieces of legislation, such as the approval of immunotherapy cancer treatment by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Minister without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) said.
To engage the public, the Cabinet will be working on fostering public communication professionals in directing public hearings and making government data more easily understandable, Tang said.
In other news, the Cabinet also passed a draft amendment to the HIV Infection Control and Patient Rights Protection Act (人類免疫缺乏病毒傳染防治及感染者權益保障條例) that would allow individuals with HIV to donate their organs to other people with HIV.
The proposal has to be approved by the Legislative Yuan.
Additional reporting by CNA
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
RSS