Premier Chang San-cheng today thanked the pro-transparency group g0v.tw for its support of the government's open data efforts, which have helped propel Taiwan to the No. 1 spot in the 2015 Global Open Data Index published by the U.K.-based Open Knowledge Foundation.
Speaking at the g0v Summit 2016 held in Taipei, Premier Chang said the advocacy group not only provides the government with technical assistance but also conveys the needs of external users and affirms the government's internal achievements. In his dialog with g0v.tw co-founder Kao Chia-liang, the premier described the government's journey into open data and his own efforts to promote transparency since becoming minister without portfolio for science and technology affairs in 2012.
Civil servants have the motivation to promote open data but are often limited by cost and regulatory restrictions, Chang said, hence government leaders must resolve these problems and provide direction. Citing Taiwan's freeway electronic toll collection system as an example, Chang said civic groups were apprehensive about privacy issues before the system came online, but Minister without Portfolio Jaclyn Tsai worked with the Ministry of Justice and other agencies to address open data concerns and provide explicit guidance. Once the Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau received clear directions, it became eager to promote the new toll system.
Another successful case of data transparency relates to the Central Election Commission (CEC), Chang continued. When the government began promoting open data in 2012, the CEC felt election data involved personal information and thus could not be released to the public. But as the government increased the science and technology budget, election data gradually became fully disclosed and is one of the reasons for Taiwan's top ranking in the Global Open Data Index.
Civil servants must be innovative and motivated, the premier emphasized, and if lower-level workers lack the motivation, mid- and upper-level leaders must provide top-down guidance. Hence, open data requires not only bottom-up motivation but also top-down policy direction as well as budgetary assistance.
In closing, Chang noted that citizens may request the release of government data through the National Development Council. The decision to release information may be made at three levels: If the department within an agency in charge of the information decides against disclosure, the case may be referred to that agency's open data consultation team. If disclosure is again denied, the case may be referred further up to the Executive Yuan's open data consultation task force.
Asked about data on political groups, Chang said many researchers would be interested in that information but regulations are still not in place to permit the disclosure. He hopes a regulatory framework can be set up in the near future.