TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Legislators from all parties in the Internal Administration Committee of the Legislative Yuan called a proposal on the issue of "Digital ID card replacement policy and budget execution" on Monday (March 18), and set up a special investigation team.
The Executive Yuan decided to postpone the digital ID card replacement in 2021, leading to contract dispute claims by manufacturers and subsequent claim mediations.
According to information from the Ministry of the Interior, the initial mediation payout was NT$1 billion. After long negotiations, it was reduced to NT$280 million. NT$63.75 million is budgeted in the 2024 fiscal year to pay for the necessary costs of the suspension.
Kuomintang (KMT) legislator Hsu Yu-chen questioned the Ministry of the Interior and the Central Engraving and Printing Plant on the total expenditure on the digital ID card project, including the budget and actual execution numbers, as well as the total expenditure, including the settlement money.
Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang emphasized that the digital ID card replacement project has not been terminated, but postponed. All the machinery and consumables will still be maintained and kept in good condition until the plan restarts.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Wang Mei-hui also questioned why the digital ID card policy was postponed, Lin attributed this to the higher demand for information security in society.
