At today's Cabinet meeting, Premier Jiang Yi-huah directed the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) to ensure smooth operation of the new household registration and conscription information system, which has been plagued with hardware and software problems and interface issues since its launch on February 5, causing delays and inconvenience to citizens.
Efforts were made to improve the system these past couple of days, but it remains unstable, Jiang said. The MOI must make sure that system developers and the hardware maintenance team work closely to examine and correct the problems.
From past experience, the successful operation of large government information systems—including the real estate price registry and the eTag freeway toll collection system—can have a significant impact on citizens' lives, Jiang said. Therefore, the government must carefully and thoroughly plan and test new systems prior to any transitions, and have risk control and crisis management plans drafted beforehand. The agencies should also take lessons from these examples, the premier urged.
As part of the government's reorganization process, many of the agencies' information management departments will be moved up to the ministry level, Jiang noted. They should maintain good communication and working relationships with other departments and agencies under the ministries, and play a more active role in setting up public information systems rather than stepping in only when emergencies arise. If faced with more complicated information problems, Jiang continued, the ministries can also seek assistance from the Executive Yuan's Board of Science and Technology as well as Office of Information and Communication Security.
The premier further pointed out that the government is becoming more reliant on information system and cloud computing for performing administrative tasks, which not only brings greater convenience but also new technological challenges. He asked Chang San-cheng—the Executive Yuan's head of information management and minister without portfolio in charge of technology affairs—to help ministries draw up new strategies and measures for the cloud computing age. This includes providing support for cloud-based infrastructure and establishing standard operating procedures to make the government's information systems more cohesive.