The Executive Yuan has proposed budgeting NT$51.64 million (US$1.86 million) for information management and national security to augment computer system security and improve the safety of Internet connections, according to its fiscal 2022 budget.
The Executive Yuan’s Department of Information Management had proposed the budget to upgrade computers, and implement systems and fund general information security, said a source at the Executive Yuan, who asked to remain anonymous.
The budget would include an additional NT$7.81 million for national security and information security operations, the source said.
The sum is the Executive Yuan’s greatest expenditure for fiscal 2022, and most of it would be spent on systems maintenance and upgrades, the source said.
The Executive Yuan has also planned a digital upgrade program, which is expected to cost NT$71.1 billion, spread across five years, they said.
The Executive Yuan has allocated NT$37.8 million for consultation fees for technological development, which includes policy seminars, hiring people to review the development of certain technology, the management and inspection of projects, and hosting conferences to decide what technologies to develop, the source said.
The Executive Yuan has also earmarked NT$20.4 million to promote gender equality, including for hosting meetings to establish gender equality policies and legislation, reviewing mid to long-term projects and legislation, stepping up efforts to promote gender equality, putting into practice the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and increasing international participation and interaction, the source said.
The Executive Yuan has also set aside NT$41.92 million to fund the establishment of a planned ministry of digital development, which would involve the purchase of new equipment, preliminary analyses of key issues regarding digital development and efforts to communicate such policies to the public, the source said.
The Executive Yuan’s proposed budgets have yet to be approved by the Legislative Yuan, which began its latest session last week.
CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) yesterday released the first video documenting the submerged sea trials of Taiwan’s indigenous defense submarine prototype, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, showing underwater navigation and the launch of countermeasures. The footage shows the vessel’s first dive, steering and control system tests, and the raising and lowering of the periscope and antenna masts. It offered a rare look at the progress in the submarine’s sea acceptance tests. The Hai Kun carried out its first shallow-water diving trial late last month and has since completed four submerged tests, CSBC said. The newly released video compiles images recorded from Jan. 29 to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to make advanced 3-nanometer chips in Japan, stepping up its semiconductor manufacturing roadmap in the country in a triumph for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s technology ambitions. TSMC is to adopt cutting-edge technology for its second wafer fab in Kumamoto, company chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. That is an upgrade from an original blueprint to produce 7-nanometer chips by late next year, people familiar with the matter said. TSMC began mass production at its first plant in Japan’s Kumamoto in late 2024. Its second fab, which is still under construction, was originally focused on
DETERRENCE EFFORTS: Washington and partners hope demonstrations of force would convince Beijing that military action against Taiwan would carry high costs The US is considering using HMAS Stirling in Western Australia as a forward base to strengthen its naval posture in a potential conflict with China, particularly over Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. As part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, Washington plans to deploy up to four nuclear-powered submarines at Stirling starting in 2027, providing a base near potential hot spots such as Taiwan and the South China Sea. The move also aims to enhance military integration with Pacific allies under the Australia-UK-US trilateral security partnership, the report said. Currently, US submarines operate from Guam, but the island could
The partisan standoff over President William Lai’s (賴清德) proposed defense budget has raised questions about the nation’s ability to adequately fund its own defense, the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in a report released on Tuesday. The report, titled Taiwan: Defense and Military Issues, said the government has increased its defense budget at an average annual rate of 5 percent from 2019 to 2023, with about 2.5 percent of its GDP spent on defense in 2024. Lai in November last year proposed a special budget of about US$40 billion over eight years, and said he intends to increase defense spending to