Minister without Portfolio Tsai Yu-ling appeared as a guest on the Executive Yuan's "Open Mic" webcast today to discuss development of the virtual world in Taiwan and to share her views on regulatory adjustments for the Internet age.
"The online world knows no borders and the lines separating industries are obscure. The virtual world and the manner in which we embrace it are big challenges, but it also brings great opportunities for our industries," Tsai told Executive Yuan Spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun, who hosted the webcast.
"The public and private sectors should think together about the business opportunities presented by online activities. Taiwan would certainly perform as well in the virtual world as in the physical world," Tsai said.
As for consumer spending via smartphones, Tsai noted that the proliferation of mobile commerce and mobile payment services has raised industry concerns, such as whether Taiwan should allows new business models, as well as security concerns, such as the right to privacy and protecting personal information from hackers.
"While some are worried that the use of smartphones may violate the Personal Information Protection Act, smartphones have actually opened up many business opportunities such as O2O (online to offline) services and mobile payments," she added.
Minister Tsai also referred to the vTaiwan.tw forum, which she said has been effective in involving the public in policymaking. Opinions are being collected and shared on the forum, remarks from conference participants are all being recorded, and government agencies are giving their response within seven days.
Tsai said the government has three objectives in regulatory adjustment—to make Taiwan a base for online businesses, facilitate a new digital lifestyle, and build a safe cyber world.
Regarding cyber safety, the government is reviewing personal information laws, cyberbullying, intellectual property rights infringement, and de-identification issues. Crimes such as cyberbullying and online fraud can be dealt with by the Criminal Code, and they can be also reported through the National Communications Commission's Institute of Watch Internet Network (iWIN) or by dialing the police at 110. The National Police Agency has a cybercrime special task force that can then investigate the incident. For victims of cyberbullying, the iWIN website provides a direct link to a counseling service hotline operated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Cybercrime can be committed across borders, and preventing it is difficult as there are no real authorities to regulate the cyber world, Tsai said. A better solution for making the virtual world a safer place is to promote online ethics and self-restraint and encourage people to adapt to online trends in new ways.
As for a new digital lifestyle, Minister Tsai pointed out the government will first adjust regulations concerning remote jobs, distance education and remote medical care. To promote remote jobs, the Ministry of Labor added provisions on flexible work hours and locations to the Labor Standards Act during the first round of regulatory adjustment that concluded in June. For the second round, a mechanism for regulating telework conditions will be established.
The first round of adjustments encompassed 41 regulatory amendments. The second round addresses the sharing economy, and issues are posted online for public discussion.
Turning to online banking, Minister Tsai said the Internet has shaken up not just the financial sector but music and retail industries as well. With mobile payment giving rise to new business models, the Financial Supervisory Commission established a financial technology office for promoting banking applications. Tsai said Taiwan could learn from the mobile banking app Moven, based in New York, which provides financial services directly online, with some services completely free-of-charge. Virtual banking can create many new types of banking services, and traditional financial institutions are encouraged to take advantage of the new trend.
To view this evening's webcast, visit https://goo.gl/wUWCve.
For the Executive Yuan's other webcast programs, visit http://goo.gl/QMwscC.