The Legislative Yuan’s Internal Affairs Committee yesterday resolved to freeze NT$400 million (US$13.9 million) of the Ministry of the Interior’s budget for the issuance of new electronic identification cards (eIDs).
During the meeting, several legislators issued proposals to freeze a portion of the ministry’s budget for the eIDs, ranging from 10 to 50 percent. The ministry had initially budgeted NT$867.96 million for the cards.
“Since 2012 there have been information security concerns over plans for an electronic ID. These concerns are important. Once electronic ID cards are issued, there is no going back,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said, proposing that the committee first freeze half of the budget for the eIDs pending a detailed report on the cards.
DPP Legislator Huang Shih-chieh (黃世杰) said that issues related to information security handled by the Executive Yuan’s Department of Cyber Security would eventually become the responsibility of the planned Ministry of Digital Development.
The government should wait until this transition is enacted, rather than leave it to the Ministry of the Interior or the Department of Household Registration to deal with eID-related information security issues, he said.
“Legislators in every party have doubts about the new eIDs, and funds budgeted for the cards this year were frozen and never released. The ministry needs to present the committee with a detailed report for its approval,” DPP Legislator Shen Fa-hui (沈發惠) said.
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
RSS