Executive Yuan Minister without Portfolio Audrey Tang today convened a meeting with government agencies to map out a framework and designate responsible personnel to promote open government, a fundamental ideal and policy goal of this administration.
Open government is a global trend, so in the future, governments will no longer be described as left-wing or right-wing, but as open or closed. Thanks to its leading digital technological applications and thriving online communities, Taiwan has enjoyed considerable global visibility in the area of open government, Minister Tang said.
To provide information transparency, Tang said the transcript of today's discussions will be made and published in 10 days on the Public Digital Innovation Space (PDIS) task force website (http://pdis.nat.gov.tw/#/what-we-do). Parties at the meeting will be able to read and correct the transcript, while citizens can also read the transcript and share their views and suggestions. Today's meeting will also become a model for future discussions on other related issues, Tang said, which is one of the ways for open government to foster a sound democracy.
The three core elements of open government are transparency, participation and accountability, which raise public awareness, encourage public participation and allow the public to assess accountability and results. These approaches aim to expand public participation prior to and during the decision-making process to make public policies more comprehensive and balanced, Tang said.
The promotion of open government requires the efforts of all government agencies, Tang continued. The Executive Yuan will be responsible for policy integration and logistics support, while the PDIS task force will provide technical support to help government agencies strengthen their open government operations capabilities. One example is the cooperative platform Sandstorm, set up by PDIS, which streamlines internal communications and fortifies inter-ministerial collaboration. PDIS is also working with the Council of Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance to build an agricultural produce price board to provide direct and transparent price information to help government and the public keep pace with prices, as well as the supply and demand, of agricultural products, eliminating price gouging and public concerns.
The National Development Council's (NDC) "Join," a platform for online public participation in policymaking (http://join.gov.tw) has drawn great attention with its "propose" and "talk" sections. The platform encompasses the transparency, participation and accountability elements required for open government, Tang said. The NDC will continue to fortify the platform's functions, while using another Open Data platform (http://data.gov.tw) to assist government agencies promote open government.
To enhance topical risk management, beginning January 1, 2017, all new legal regulations and decrees regarding investment and trade, and their amendments, must be made available for discussion on the "talk" section of the Join platform, to allow all interested parties to understand government policies as early as possible. It is vital to build mutual trust between government and the people through open, transparent information, and provide data and press releases to ensure the public has access to correct information, and avoid ratcheting up government-public antagonism, Tang said.