For the purpose of convenient, open, and transparent governance, Taiwan has been promoting the opening of government data since 2012. By establishing a mechanism for government open data consulting, creating a comprehensive and trusted open data environment, and government and private sector collaboration on applications, the government looks to expand the public’s access to information. The government also built a data quality authentication and reward systems to encourage government agencies to optimize open data, allowing them to provide high-quality data that can be conveniently used by the public and fits their needs.

Since 2019, the government has promoted the maximization of open government data and improved the quality and quantity of open data. The Ministry will continue to improve government data access, prioritizing data with practical value to facilitate civil participation and data value application, thus maximizing the benefits of the data.

1. （1）Open – according to the "Open Definition," the publication of open works shall meet three criteria: open license, open access, and open format. That is, open to everyone for free access, use, change and share as long as proper citation is made.
2. （2）Government open data – government agencies release government data in open formats and according to the "Open Definition" for the public, including individuals, schools, communities, enterprises, or government agencies, to download and use as needed.
3. （3）Scope – all forms of electronic data, including text, data, photo, image, sound, and metadata acquired or composed by agencies under their functions which are legally publishable.
4. （4）Open license – irrevocably permit or allow works to be used, re-distributed, modified, divided, edited, non-discriminatorily treated, and delivered freely without restrictions on the purpose of use so long as such works include proper citation, original integrity, relevant claims, open-source code, and shared in the same manner without technical restrictions and mutual infringement.
5. （5）Open access – works shall be provided in their full form and at reasonable one-time reproduction costs. If provided over the Internet, it is preferable to enable their download free of charge. Any extra information required for license compliance (e.g. list of contributors’ names required for citation) shall be provided together with the work.
6. （6）Open format – machine readable, in unbroken batches, with publicly disclosed format specifications, and without charges or other restrictions on uses.
7. （7）Data set – a group of electronic data, the basic unit of government open data.