The government in October next year is expected to launch electronic identification cards (eID) that combine the functions of existing national ID cards and Citizen Digital Certificates, which people use to file their taxes online, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday.
The ministry is to complete the initial plan for issuing the cards in July and would share a more detailed plan, including the card’s design, in September, Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.
The cards would integrate information from National Health Insurance cards and driver’s licenses, once cardholders activate the features, Hsu added.
Screen grab from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Jin-pyng’s Facebook page
The budget for establishing digital infrastructure and foundation services could require NT$4 billion (US$128.35 million), pending the Cabinet’s approval, the ministry said in a report submitted to the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday.
The new cards would be physical and virtual proof of identification; would allow digital signatures, privacy protection, autonomy of information disclosure; help with the transition to a “smart” government; have anti-counterfeit facilities; and would boost innovative applications and industry development, the report said.
Turning to security and privacy issues, the ministry said the cards could be used as proof of identity rather than as a device to store personal data, and therefore would not encroach on personal privacy.
The eID would contain less personal data than the current version, would be harder to counterfeit and would be equipped with the top-of-the-range identification technology to prevent information theft, the report said.
Cardholders would be able to access databases from various government agencies and public institutions, such as the National Health Insurance Administration.
The cards would also show cardholders’ marital status simply as “married” or “single,” but the name of their spouse would be stored on the card’s chip, a ministry official said at a legislative hearing yesterday.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS