By the first month of the lunar calendar, Taichung is to establish an online platform that would improve residents’ access to city services, the Taichung City Government said on Tuesday.
The move is the first step toward offering comprehensive services rivaling, if not surpassing, that offered by “resident cards” in other special municipalities, Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) told a city governance meeting.
The first phase of the platform’s implementation would help residents discover city events, expedite their visits to city offices and assist them in borrowing public library materials, she added.
Photo: CNA
“After a year of research, Taichung has caught up with other special municipalities — and perhaps even overtaken them — with the issue of digital resident cards,” Lu said.
On the platform, residents can electronically register or apply for government services, pay fees, apply to lease a venue for an event, she added.
At the beginning of the month, the city government opened preregistration for the online platform, Lu said, adding that 56 percent of Taichung residents have registered, showing their receptiveness to the platform.
Along with the focus on a “digital card,” the city government is offering a physical card to people who require one, she said.
While the first phase would begin in March, the second phase — online service payments, a part of the platform still under development — would begin by the end of next year, she added.
Funding for the system is being reviewed by the Taichung City Council, Lu said.
Wu Huang-sheng (吳皇昇), chairman of the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission’s Taichung branch, said that the Economic Development Bureau and local business owners would collaborate on a Taichung Shopping Festival event.
Taichung residents with a digital card would be eligible for discounts from vendors, he added.
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