June 26, 2006 Taiwan's Model for Electronics in Government By KEN BELSON NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/26/technology/26egov.html?pagewanted=print Taipei's WiFly network may be the most visible evidence of Taiwan's technological aspirations, but behind the scenes the government has been working since the 1990's on a far-reaching plan to use the Internet to make it faster and cheaper for bureaucrats to communicate among themselves and with citizens. The rewards have been substantial. In 2005, 92 percent of businesses and 35 percent of individuals filed their taxes electronically, reducing paperwork and speeding up the payment of returns. The island's government distributes about 100,000 documents online every working day, saving about $3 million in postage. Before, when the prime minister's office issued executive orders, it typically took up to a week to distribute them across the island. Now it takes about an hour. By pooling the telecommunications services of all the ministries, the government saves about $70 million annually. The government also accepts 15,000 online bids each month from companies seeking public contracts. Thousands of students and parents pay school tuition on the Internet, and citizens apply for drivers' licenses, property titles and a host of other certificates online. To speed up delivery of these services, about one million citizens now have identification cards with chips inside that, when scanned, instantly provide personal data. The cards, which cost about $8.50, have ID and PIN numbers for protection. Hsieh Chang-yao, a manager at a clothing company, got his card at the local government office in the Xinyi district of Taipei so that, among other things, he could go online to get a household certificate, an important form of identification, instead of returning to his hometown outside Taipei. "Since people in modern society are busy and not as flexible, we have to be able to communicate more online," he said. The government's efforts have attracted notice. The Brown University Taubman Center for Public Policy put Taiwan at the top of its list of the world's most Internet-savvy governments. Taiwan's goal has not just been to reduce paperwork and speed up services. It has used the Internet to tear down walls between ministries and increase transparency after years of authoritarian rule. "The Internet is not just to get rid of regulations, but also to establish a mature democracy," said Yeh Jiunn-rong, the former minister of the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, which reviews the effectiveness of government projects and policies. "While we were doing government reform, it was a golden opportunity to do it right with e-government." ================================ George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 antunes at uh dot edu Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
