At today's workshop on online development trends organized by the National Development Council (NDC), Premier Mao Chi-kuo stated that the administrative team must uphold the spirit of "open data," not just in technology but even more importantly in attitude when dealing with the online world.
The administration must also understand opinions voiced online and respond appropriately as well as develop collaborative relations via the Internet to serve netizens and the public as a whole when implementing various measures, Mao added.
"While presiding over the very first Cabinet meeting after taking office, I emphasized the importance of utilizing the Internet," the premier reiterated. He encouraged Cabinet ministers to see to both the online and offline worlds and erect a bridge between the two in their administration. This is why Vice Premier Chang San-cheng has proposed formulating an online policy whitepaper as a reference in policy promotion, and it is also the background to today's seminar, Mao said.
The premier pointed out that he believes open data is not merely technology; it is more a kind of attitude. With this attitude in mind, every administrative measure must be able to stand the tests of open and transparent scrutiny, and the mechanisms for regulating others must also be used on oneself. In other words, the administration must be meticulous in thinking and comprehensive with data to enhance execution and work quality, thus achieving the objectives of "changing one's brain" and "changing one's attitude" in doing things.
Officials are accustomed to gathering opinions from conventional media, but today, online views are far more diverse and abundant, and the administration must understand such views and take note of opinions expressed in both the online and offline worlds, the premier stated. These are lessons that must be learned and explored in today's workshop concerning the ways to capitalize on professional expertise to gather, analyze and respond to online opinions, he added.
Mao further pointed out that traditional bureaucratic information exchanges often amount to routines rather than actual communication. An agency tends to unilaterally publish information on policies and measures, which even in the physical world has very limited effectiveness, not to mention in virtual communities. Therefore, how to make best use of the Internet to enhance collaboration within the public sector in order to better serve netizens and the general public is an important issue, the premier stated.
Today's workshop covers the subject extensively, and all instructors are prestigious experts from related fields, Mao said. He gave special thanks to the instructors for their enthusiastic guidance and dedication and to Vice Premier Chang and the NDC for organizing the event. The premier also expressed hope that today's event will motivate colleagues to develop new ideas and put them into practice.
The NDC said the workshop aims to help ministers and other high-ranking officials to understand Internet applications and their development trends in order to augment the effectiveness of government policies. The workshop is held in two rounds, with the first being held today for the premier, vice premier, secretary-general, deputy secretary-general, ministers without portfolio, and all Cabinet ministers and deputy ministers. The second round is to be held January 31 for all department heads of the Executive Yuan and various ministries.