This is the first reason. The second reason is the constant updates done on these web sites - they offer very current information. The third reason is speed of email response. Online inquiries are answered within three days. Our online user identification is very advanced. For example, when filing taxes online, you need to fill in detailed personal information plus that of your family members. So we are certainly concerned about cyberspace security. We don't just rely on the password which is usually the first thing hackers find. It is only one of several security features.
Translation is a major issue because we aim for accuracy especially in the translation of government policies. Each government unit - for example the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Straits Exchange Foundation, etc. - is responsible for the translation of their web site content. Moreover, we in government need to achieve consistency in our translations.
We need to boost our bilingual services. I must admit that very often, we have fresh information in Chinese but they are not immediately translated into English for the benefit of our foreign online users. By the end of the year, we hope that our government web sites can all have bilingual content.
Another area we would like to strengthen is online services for the disabled. This is a big job. We will need online interactive systems for blind people for example. How can you communicate the rich colours of an online picture to such users?
A third area that needs to be developed is that of an integrated portal for e-Taiwan, "My e-Government Portal" sort of thing. Such a single, highly user-friendly portal can boost communication between government and the people. So this is one of our main objectives.
We now require our government employees to be information technology literate. Thirty-something employees or sixty-something veterans should at least know how to use the internet or email their friends and colleagues. We want our employees to consider this an area of personal improvement.
We have been implementing online training for our employees and this practice further enhances their online abilities and ultimately strengthens e-government.
We now have an email usage rate of 82 per cent among our government employees and an internet usage rate of around 90 per cent. We hope that by 2007 all our employees will be internet-friendly.
Autor: Shih Chunging
Quelle: Public Sector Technology & Management, 21.09.2004
