The Ministry of Digital Affairs (moda) solemnly clarified today (8th) that Legislator Chiao Hsin Hsu’s statement that 90% of the moda staff is not in the country is misleading and distorted. The so-called "stay abroad for 329 days in a year" is the sum of the number of days abroad for different personnel. In sum, there is no situation where a single person is out of the country for 90% of the time. The preparation of the budget for the 2024 overseas travel of the moda was carried out  in accordance with the provisions of the "Main Points for the Compilation and Review of Cases of Officials Sent Abroad by the Executive Yuan and its Agencies at All Levels" and has been reviewed by the ruling and opposition legislators of the Transportation Committee of the Legislative Yuan, as well as the democratic parties of the four political parties in the Legislative Yuan at that time. After consultation with the DPP, KMT, Taiwan People's Party, and the ruling and opposition parties that were in power at the time, a consensus was reached and passed on the third reading.

The Ministry of Digital Affairs verified the arrangement and has implemented it strictly  in accordance with regulations. Regarding Legislator Hsu’s question about the high funding for some of the department’s overseas trips, the Ministry of Digital Affairs emphasized that the expenditure standards for overseas travel expenses of public agencies are based on the critical points for reporting overseas travel expenses set by the General Accounting Office, including daily living expenses, which are the same nationwide. Civil servants agree that write-offs can only be made per legal standards, and there is no such thing as a high class.

As for the expedition to Singapore mentioned by Legislator Hsu, the moda pointed out that this business was originally implemented by the National Communications Commission (NCC) and was transferred to the moda after the moda's foundation. The relevant funds were compiled in accordance with applicable regulations. This trip was mainly to participate in the CommunicAsia international conference, hosted annually by the Singapore Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). Every year, the IMDA invites telecommunications and communication business agencies, scholars, and experts from various countries to discuss communication issues with the industry. Participating in this conference will help our government learn from different countries' experiences and take this opportunity to conduct substantive exchanges with Singapore IMDA, which will contribute to opportunities for international cooperation. 

Regarding the inspection trip to Seoul, South Korea, the moda explained that this trip was to conduct preliminary research on the Public Safety and Disaster Response (PPDR) communication system that provides dedicated mobile broadband networks for Taiwan’s police, fire, and other disaster relief units. Only the United States and South Korea are the first in the world. The completion of the construction of the PPDR system will help Taiwan's disaster relief units introduce this advanced concept and technology as soon as possible. Therefore, the moda plans to go to South Korea to conduct on-site inspections of available technologies, deployment mechanisms, cost-effectiveness, etc., as an essential reference for Taiwan's subsequent policy promotion. 

The moda pointed out that digital technology and technology continue to evolve rapidly and have become an important emerging issue worldwide. To grasp and keep in line with international trends and progression, the moda has been actively participating in relevant international activities to control Taiwan's information security, industrial development and transformation, and digital resilience construction, as well as to deploy those trends and critical technologies as soon as possible, such as participating in the American Information Security Conference (RSA), the World Hacker Conference (DEFCON), the Black Hat Hacker Conference (BLACK HAT), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Telecommunications and Information Working Group (APEC TEL), the Worldwide Information Network Consortium (W3C), etc. There are also some bilateral or multilateral dialogues and digital economic and trade negotiations that were newly transferred to the moda after its establishment, such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Digital Economy Steering Group (APEC DESG), Taiwan-US Digital Economic Forum (DEF), Taiwan-EU Dialogue on Digital Economy (DDE), as well as participation in digital trade negotiations in the Taiwan-US Initiative on 21st Century Trade and the Taiwan-UK Enhanced Trade Partnership Arrangement (ETP), are critical for Taiwan to face the new forms of digital economy and trade in the digital era. 

The Ministry of Digital Affairs reiterated that some participants in relevant international conferences and essential occasions can do so via online meetings or video conferences. The moda has adopted online methods to participate. The 32 overseas travel projects approved by the Legislative Yuan on the third reading in 2024 are necessary, based on the requirements of the organizer or the characteristics of individual cases; on-site participation is a necessity before conducting or negotiating; and they are mainly used to promote international information security joint defense, assist the output of the digital industry, and continue to connect the global democratic network for international cooperation. Moda will use the budget sparingly in accordance with regulations to promote Taiwan's digital development and favor the well-being of the people.