The legislature yesterday inaugurated an association dedicated to promoting digital technologies, with the aim of improving communication between government and industry.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) is to lead the Taiwan Parliamentary Association for Digital Technology and New Economy Industry, with lawmakers from all three parties in the legislature to serve as vice chairs.
While the government hopes to expand the digital economy’s contribution to GDP, current regulations cannot keep pace with the rate of technological change, Lin told an event at the legislature in Taipei marking the founding of the group.
Photo courtesy of Lin’s office
Changes to the Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Act (證券投資信託及顧問法) were passed in the last legislative session requiring those advertising investments online to register with their legal name in an attempt to stop fraud, she said.
Lawmakers also hope to raise fraud awareness by including financial literacy in a draft “youth basic act,” she added.
The association is planning five major actions for the current session, including adjusting laws to cultivate talent in artificial intelligence (AI), promoting international exchanges, securing digital transactions, fostering financial and digital literacy, and planning smart cities, Lin said.
DPP Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑), a vice chair of the association, said that helping Taiwan’s electronics and semiconductor manufacturers adopt digital technologies is crucial.
Hsu vowed to explore how to help small and medium-sized enterprises — which comprise 98 percent of all Taiwanese businesses, but tend to lack resources — to incorporate the same technologies.
The digital economy is not limited to just AI, but also includes the sharing economy, smart cities, digital transactions and more, Legislative Yuan Deputy Secretary-General Chang Yu-jung (張裕榮) said.
Innovators are taking the lead in pushing technology forward, but the government needs to help maintain stability, Digital Economy Association, Taiwan executive director Marvin Ma (馬培治) said.
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
The coast guard drove away 567 Chinese boats and seized seven illegally operating in Taiwanese waters in the first six months of this year, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. They mostly operated near Kinmen and Penghu counties, resulting in fines totaling NT$1.7 million (US$52,440), it said. Three ships — two near Kinmen County and one near Penghu County — were detained in January for illegally crossing the border, while one ship each was detained near Kinmen in February and Penghu in March respectively, it said. The ship seized near Penghu in January was the Yun Ao (雲澳), detained by the CGA’s