The Executive Yuan has proposed budgeting NT$51.64 million (US$1.86 million) for information management and national security to augment computer system security and improve the safety of Internet connections, according to its fiscal 2022 budget.
The Executive Yuan’s Department of Information Management had proposed the budget to upgrade computers, and implement systems and fund general information security, said a source at the Executive Yuan, who asked to remain anonymous.
The budget would include an additional NT$7.81 million for national security and information security operations, the source said.
The sum is the Executive Yuan’s greatest expenditure for fiscal 2022, and most of it would be spent on systems maintenance and upgrades, the source said.
The Executive Yuan has also planned a digital upgrade program, which is expected to cost NT$71.1 billion, spread across five years, they said.
The Executive Yuan has allocated NT$37.8 million for consultation fees for technological development, which includes policy seminars, hiring people to review the development of certain technology, the management and inspection of projects, and hosting conferences to decide what technologies to develop, the source said.
The Executive Yuan has also earmarked NT$20.4 million to promote gender equality, including for hosting meetings to establish gender equality policies and legislation, reviewing mid to long-term projects and legislation, stepping up efforts to promote gender equality, putting into practice the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and increasing international participation and interaction, the source said.
The Executive Yuan has also set aside NT$41.92 million to fund the establishment of a planned ministry of digital development, which would involve the purchase of new equipment, preliminary analyses of key issues regarding digital development and efforts to communicate such policies to the public, the source said.
The Executive Yuan’s proposed budgets have yet to be approved by the Legislative Yuan, which began its latest session last week.
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