The electronic national ID (eID) card will have a “military grade” information-security system, a senior Ministry of the Interior official said yesterday.
The government announced last year that new ID cards that combined existing national ID cards with Citizen Digital Certificates would be launched by October this year.
However, early last month, Department of Household Registration Affairs Director Chang Wan-yi (張琬宜) said that travel restrictions triggered by COVID-19 had made importing the equipment to manufacture the cards difficult, so the rollout would likely be pushed back until next year.
Chang yesterday confirmed that the program has been delayed probably until next year, due to improvements being made to the cards and production issues caused by the pandemic.
The ministry originally estimated the new cards would cost the same as the current national IDs — NT$200 — but production costs have been higher due to the improved security features, she said
While initial cards would be provided free of charge, there are plans to charge a NT$900 fee for replacements for lost cards, because the department has to carry out additional identity checks and other risk-prevention measures since the new cards would carry more sensitive data, she said.
People who need to replace an eIDs due to changes in personal information would have to pay a NT$300 fee, she said.
The costs are still just estimates, and the department would welcome public input, she said.
However, replacing or undating an eID would still be cheaper than other government-issued documents, such as passports or Alien Resident Certificate cards for foreigners, which respectively cost NT$1,300 and NT$1,000 to replace, Chang said.
“The eID will be the most secure type of card issued in the country ... It will be as secure as a classified military document,” she said.
“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