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.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS