The ministry of digital development might not have all of its staff members in place when it opens in July after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus filed for a reconsideration of an amendment to the National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法).
The amendment, passed on Tuesday last week, is the legal basis for the transfer of some departments at the National Communications Commission (NCC) to the new ministry.
The KMT caucus proposed reconsidering the bill after expressing concern that the NCC’s draft digital communications act, which would regulate multinational online platforms, could suppress freedom of expression.
The caucus’ unexpected move has prevented the amendment from taking effect and disrupted progress on the establishment of the digital development ministry.
Following an emergency meeting with Cabinet officials, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said that it would not put the proposal to a vote.
If the DPP put the proposal to a vote, the KMT would likely file reconsiderations on more important bills that were passed last week, including the central government’s general budget and a special budget for the military, a legislative expert said.
A government source said that the establishment of the digital development ministry requires a transfer of personnel and resources from at least five government agencies: the NCC, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the National Development Council, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and the Executive Yuan’s information and communication security department.
Given the changes, the ministry would not begin operations until July, and NCC personnel and resources would not be in place when it opens due to the KMT’s “legislative roadblock,” they said.
The ministry would also be tasked with overseeing government information security, digital services and data management, as well as aiding the development of industries related to the digital economy, the Executive Yuan said.
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Friday condemned Chinese and Russian authorities for escalating regional tensions, citing Chinese warplanes crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line and joint China-Russia military activities breaching South Korea’s air defense identification zone (KADIZ) over the past two days. A total of 30 Chinese warplanes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Thursday and Friday, entering Taiwan’s northern and southwestern airspace in coordination with 15 naval vessels and three high-altitude balloons, the MAC said in a statement. The Chinese military also carried out another “joint combat readiness patrol” targeting Taiwan on Thursday evening, the MAC said. On
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday confirmed that Chinese students visiting Taiwan at the invitation of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation were almost all affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). During yesterday’s meeting convened by the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) asked whether the visit was a way to spread China’s so-called “united front” rhetoric, to which MAC Deputy Ministry Shen You-chung (沈有忠) responded with the CCP comment. The MAC noticed that the Chinese individuals visiting Taiwan, including those in sports, education, or religion, have had increasingly impressive backgrounds, demonstrating that the
MILITARY EXERCISES: China is expected to conduct more drills in the region after President William Lai’s office announced he would stopover in Hawaii and Guam China is likely to launch military drills in the coming days near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming trip to the Pacific and scheduled US transit as a pretext, regional security officials said. Lai is to begin a visit to Taipei’s three diplomatic allies in the Pacific on Saturday, and sources told Reuters he was planning stops in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam in a sensitive trip shortly after the US presidential election. Lai’s office has yet to confirm details of what are officially “stop-overs” in the US, but is expected to do so shortly before he departs, sources
RSS