The Executive Yuan yesterday approved draft bills to pave the way for the establishment of a ministry of digital development, which would be tasked with boosting cybersecurity and accelerating the nation’s digital transformation.
The bills include amendments to the Organizational Act of the Executive Yuan (行政院組織法) and proposed laws on the establishment of the ministry and its affiliates, which are to be forwarded for legislative review.
The proposed ministry would focus on telecommunications, information technology, cybersecurity, the Internet and media communications, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) quoted Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) as saying at a regular Cabinet meeting yesterday morning.
Photo: CNA
Minister Without Portfolio Kuo Yau-hwang (郭耀煌), who oversees technological policy, has been tapped as the convener of the ministry’s preparatory office, Lo said.
The creation of a digital development ministry was part of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) campaign promise and a policy that is favored by the nation’s entrepreneurs.
Kuo said the Executive Yuan expects the office to complete the preparatory work in six to 12 months, allowing the ministry to start operating in the first quarter of next year at the earliest.
The ministry would focus on the development of the software and digital service industries, upgrading small and medium-sized enterprises, and traditional industries, and creating a globally competitive and innovative base in digital technologies, he said.
A cybersecurity bureau and national cybersecurity research institute are to be established under the ministry’s aegis, he said.
The ministry would also be tasked with overseeing interdepartmental coordination on cybersecurity and efforts to foster a domestic cybersecurity technology sector, he said.
The Executive Yuan also approved amendments to redesignate the Ministry of Science and Technology into the National Science and Technology Council.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
RSS