Government employees could face punishment if they use TikTok and other Chinese streaming services that have the potential to compromise the nation’s cybersecurity systems, Executive Yuan officials said yesterday.
Although the Ministry of Digital Affairs last week announced that government workers may not download TikTok (or Douyin in Chinese), Xiaohongshu (小紅書) or other Chinese applications that could compromise cybersecurity, so far, only the Executive Yuan and its agencies have implemented the rule, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Loh Meei-ling (羅美玲) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee.
Government employees in the Legislative Yuan, the Judicial Yuan, the Control Yuan and the Examination Yuan can still access TikTok, she said, asking if the country had two different standards.
Photo: Reuters
Nor is there a list of software that government employees are prohibited to download to smartphones entrusted to them for government affairs, she said, adding that their smartphones are only subject to inspection twice a year.
Executive Yuan Secretary-General Li Meng-yen (李孟諺) said the Cabinet would coordinate with the four other government branches to uniformly ban the use of TikTok and other cybersecurity-compromising streaming platforms.
Minister Without Portfolio and Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said that government employees would be punished in accordance with the regulations if they contravene the TikTok ban.
Photo: CNA
“The punishment might not be enough to deter government workers from using TikTok, so we might need more effective solutions, such as preventing access to such software in public areas. These would be the types of issues that an ad-hoc task force of the Executive Yuan will address,” Lo said.
However, more public discussion is needed to determine whether Taiwan should draft laws to completely ban the use of TikTok across the nation, as India and other countries have done, Lo said.
Li said that the government has the responsibility to ensure that government agencies are free from the influence of Chinese apps.
Photo: CNA
“However, if the TikTok ban were to be extended from government employees to civilians, freedom of speech — which the government is obligated to protect — would be an issue,” he said.
Separately, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said the government would reinforce the national cybersecurity infrastructure and enhance citizens’ ability to identify misinformation and disinformation to fight cognitive warfare launched by foreign forces.
Tsai made the remarks at the Presidential Office during a meeting with a group of students from the Kaohsiung Municipal Senior High School who won the top prize at this year’s Cybersecurity Golden Shield Awards.
“My administration has always believed that cybersecurity issues are national security issues. With the rapid development of new technologies, our cybersecurity system is facing increasing threats and frequent attacks. Foreign forces are launching cognitive warfare by disseminating misinformation and disinformation to confuse the public,” Tsai said.
“All these tactics could potentially do great harm to our democratic system. As such, we are enhancing citizens’ ability to identify misinformation and disinformation and reinforce the national cybersecurity infrastructure,” she added.
The Cyber Security Management Act (資通安全管理法), which the legislature passed in 2018, requires government agencies and key infrastructure operators to establish cybersecurity protection mechanisms.
“The Administration for Cybersecurity at the Ministry of Digital Affairs, which was founded in August, handles national cybersecurity issues, conducts cybersecurity protection drills and trains cybersecurity workers,” Tsai said. “We will also work with our democratic allies to build a more resilient and safer supply chain, and enforce measures to protect intellectual property rights.”
BATTLE GROUP: Locally made Hsiung Feng anti-ship missiles, as well as US Harpoon missiles, would be deployed following increased naval Chinese activity in the area The military is to station mobile missile defense systems along Taiwan’s east coast after Chinese military vessels were spotted in the area, a source said yesterday. On Friday, six Chinese warships, including the aircraft carrier Liaoning, entered the Pacific Ocean via the Miyako Strait, posing a threat to Taiwan’s east coast. The Japanese Ministry of Defense on Friday confirmed the passage of the ships, saying that its Maritime Self-Defense Force monitored the vessels, adding that they did not enter Japan’s territorial waters. The source said the vessels were likely headed to the Pacific Ocean for training exercises. The vessels were identified as the
The US has sharpened its assault on China’s technology industry with a flurry of export bans and stifling restrictions on companies, an escalation that leaves Beijing with few options for retaliation. Washington’s moves are part of a strategy to prevent China from dominating the industries of the future and arming its military with advanced weaponry, while also securing its tech supply chain by enticing chipmakers to set up shop in the US. US President Joe Biden’s administration this week escalated those efforts, blacklisting dozens of Chinese tech firms, while signs emerged Japan and the Netherlands are aligning with US restrictions on selling
MILITARY GRANTS ADDED: Ten US officials per year are to study Mandarin and local issues, and return to Washington to bolster understanding of Taiwan’s needs The US Senate on Thursday passed the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is to set up a fellowship for US federal employees to work in Taiwanese government agencies, in addition to greenlighting US$2 billion in annual military grants to Taiwan. The bill has already been approved by the US House of Representatives and awaits the signature of US President Joe Biden to become law. The Taiwan Fellowship Act, which was included under the NDAA, provides support for US federal government employees to live in Taiwan for a two-year fellowship. The first year is to be spent studying Mandarin and related topics,
‘CHALLENGE’: A parliamentary commission said that London should only ‘acknowledge’ Beijing’s ‘one China’ principle, while upholding the cross-strait ‘status quo’ A British parliamentary body yesterday in a policy recommendation report called on the UK to say that it only “acknowledges,” but does not “accept” Beijing’s “one China” principle. The report was issued by the British House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. The UK’s Integrated Review released in March last year was described by then-British prime minister Boris Johnson as “the largest review of its kind since the Cold War.” Yesterday’s report builds on last year’s review, taking into account major geopolitical events that have occurred since. The report is a set of recommendations for the next review, which is to be published