In a telephone interview with CNA from Castries, St. Lucia, Chou said the agreement was signed by Tseng Yun-chin, an executive of Taiwan's state-run International Cooperation Development Fund (ICDF), and Philip Dalsou, the permanent secretary of St. Lucia's Ministry of Public Service and Human Resource Development. The signing took place at St. Lucia's National Information and Communications Technology Center and was witnesses by Chou.
Read more: Taiwan helping to set up e-government in St. Lucia: envoy
The card -- an electronic identity card with security features in the form of a contact microprocessor 'smart' chip card -- is the basis for an e-government initiative that links all government agencies through networking and provides convenient and versatile services to citizens, the ministry said in a press release.
Read more: Taiwan: 1.5 million Citizen Digital Certificate cards issued to date: MOI
"The platform will facilitate the greater transparency of company financial status, making it easier and faster for SMEs to acquire bank loans," Shih Yen-Shiang, the vice minister of the MOEA said at the signing ceremony.
Read more: Taiwan: Electronic financial service will assist SMEs
Taiwan trailed South Korea but led the other 96 countries in the study, which was conducted during June and July. A total of 1,667 government Web sites were analyzed based on many criteria, including the contents of central government Web sites, disability access, the presence of privacy policies, security policies, contact information, foreign-language options, advertisement and user fees, and the number of online services.
Under the plan, the government will build up complete wireless networks in Taiwan's major cities as well as "wireless highways" in remote areas, to enable both urban and rural areas to enjoy broadband services, Liu said.
Read more: Taiwan aims to become top wireless region in the world, says premier