government agreement 結果共10筆

Premier Chen Chien-jen announces postponement of decisions on digital national ID cards amid personal data protection concerns. Plans for new system halted in 2021 due to security worries, with suppliers seeking compensation. Settlement limited to NT$280 million, drawing public criticism. Government to establish Personal Data Protection Commission for oversight. Future reconsideration of new-style ID cards pending commission’s establishment.

Vice President Lai Ching-te’s failed digital ID card policy during his tenure as Premier resulted in a NT$280 million payout to suppliers, to be absorbed by taxpayers. Despite efforts to replace traditional ID cards with digital ones in 2021, security concerns halted implementation, leading to supplier compensation demands exceeding NT$1 billion. After six rounds of mediation, an agreement was reached to limit the payout. The incident has raised questions about accountability as Lai transitions to the presidency.

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) has approved a comprehensive plan for the Taichung Metro Blue Line and a feasibility study for the Taiwan Railway’s coastline dual-track. The completion of the transit system is estimated to be in 10 years, costing NT＄1615.14 billion, with NT＄675.59 billion borne by the central government. The Blue Line will connect Taichung Port to the city center, serving as the city’s most crucial east-west axis. It will also connect with the Green Line to form a cross-axis network. An agreement on the deployment of the Blue Line’s Shalu Overpass section was reached by the MOTC and Taichung City Government. The completion of the Taichung Metro Blue Line and the Taichung Port rail line’s dual track system is expected to improve the Taichung area’s rail infrastructure and spur balanced development in urban, rural, and coastal regions.

A citizens’ preference poll conducted by the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation (TPOF) revealed that 47.3% of respondents were generally pleased with the outcome of the elections, in which the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) candidate won the presidency but failed to secure a majority in the legislature. The poll results, announced by TPOF on Jan. 23, showed a mixed outlook, with 15.3% very pleased, 32% somewhat pleased, 23.4% slightly displeased, and 9.1% not pleased. Additionally, nearly 60% of respondents agreed with the idea of forming a coalition government in the absence of a single party gaining a majority. The survey, conducted from Jan. 15-17 by Focus Survey Research on behalf of TPOF, utilized a dual-frame random sampling design, targeting Taiwanese residents aged 20 and above through 70% landline and 30% mobile calls. The margin of error is 2.98 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai and the president of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) have announced the future establishment of an NYCU branch campus in Kaohsiung. The new campus aims to recruit masters and doctoral students in the semiconductor and AI industries, providing high-end talents for Kaohsiung’s growing sectors. The campus plans to start recruiting for the 2025 academic year. NYCU president Lin Chi-hung cited two main reasons for establishing the branch: nurturing top talents and trailblazing research, and aligning with national talent cultivation policies. The new campus is conveniently located near Taiwan High Speed Rail’s Zuoying Station and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). It offers 15 professional meeting rooms, a 500-seat international conference hall, and a large exhibition hall accommodating 1,000 people. The Kaohsiung city government and NYCU have signed a cooperation agreement, and the new campus will be housed in the existing Garden Villa Hotel and the Civil Service Development Institute, following Ministry of Education regulations for campuses.

The Minister of Labor, Hsu Ming-chun, expressed hope that the draft for the national minimum wage bill will soon pass its final hurdle. The Legislative Yuan is set to vote on the bill tomorrow, after failing to reach a consensus on Friday due to issues concerning the review committee’s composition, deliberation indicators, research groups, and the exclusion of law-violating companies from government procurement. Hsu emphasized the importance of a minimum wage law, which aims to elevate the legal status of the minimum wage, enhance the review mechanism, and clarify the indicators for deliberations. Hsu called for joint efforts to pass the legislation by tomorrow, as there is broad agreement on the need for a minimum wage law after years of discussion.

Taiwan’s National Development Council Minister, Kung Ming-hsin, expressed the hope for Taiwan to swiftly sign an Economic Cooperation Agreement (ECA) with Australia. In his speech, he emphasized the potential for collaboration in the hydrogen energy sector to boost industrial development between the two countries. Kung, on behalf of Taiwan’s government, accepted the official release of the 2023 White Paper by the Australia New Zealand Chamber of Commerce (ANZCHAM). He highlighted the record high trade of US$34.08 billion among Taiwan, New Zealand, and Australia last year. Kung also emphasized Australia’s crucial role as a major supplier of energy and agricultural products for Taiwan, emphasizing the complementarity between their economic industries. He mentioned Taiwan’s involvement in offshore wind financing operations with the Macquarie Group and its target of 10% of its energy mix coming from hydrogen, particularly green hydrogen, illustrating the potential for energy cooperation with New Zealand and Australia.

Italy has confirmed its decision to withdraw from China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), with formal notification given to Chinese authorities. This strategic move by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government will see Italy cease its participation in the BRI by the end of this year. Italy’s initial decision to join the initiative in 2019 made it the only major Western country to take part, drawing severe criticism from the U.S. and other nations. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stated that the agreement ＂has not produced the expected results＂ and is no longer a ＂priority.＂ Despite the withdrawal, the Italian government still intends to strengthen bilateral relations with China.

The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and the Kuomintang (KMT) held a ＂party-to-party＂ talk to determine their joint presidential ticket. The Ma Ying-jeou Foundation confirmed that nationwide polling will be used to select the best presidential candidate for the KMT-TPP coalition. Former President Ma Ying-jeou was present at the talk, which included TPP candidate Ko Wen-je, KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih, and KMT chair Eric Chu. The joint party candidate will be chosen based on polling results from both parties and external organizations. The accuracy of the results will be determined by polling experts from both parties. The final results will be announced on Saturday by the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation. The meeting concluded with an agreement to establish a coalition government based on shared national visions and policies.

Taiwan’s Minister without Portfolio John Deng and other top officials are in the United States to attend the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Maryland from May 1 to 4. During a visit to Washington DC, Deng met with U.S. government officials to discuss bilateral trade agreement and investment opportunities in Taiwan.