In his latest electronic letter, Chen praised Taiwanese students' good performance in a Web competition titled "Doors to Diplomacy" sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the International Schools CyberFair.
In addition, Chen added, Taiwan ranked second in an e-government survey conducted by Brown University in 2006. Taiwan led the list in both 2004 and 2005.
Among other achievements, Taiwan's preparedness in becoming an information society ranked third in a 2005 survey conducted by the World Economic Forum (WEF), and its rating ranked seventh last year, behind only Singapore in Asia, Chen said.
He noted that an official document would take almost two months to "travel" from the central government to local government agencies 10 years ago. However, the process has been significantly streamlined in the Internet era, he said.
Under the country's e-government campaign, the public can save time by paying taxes via computer and can look at tourist spots via government webcams.
The government will also present an "e-housekeeper" program in which citizens can receive information from government agencies, including various kinds of tax-paying information.
The government is now working on "single-window" Web services through which the government can pass information to entrepreneurs more efficiently, while private enterprises can bid on government purchase projects or pay taxes, Chen added.
In the Internet era, information technology represents the competitiveness of a country and integrating information for the public has become a responsibility that the government cannot shirk, Chen said.
Autor(en)/Author(s): Elisa Kao
Quelle/Source: The Central News Agency, 09.08.2007
