President Ma Ying-jeou has urged government agencies to harness the power of the Internet. Ma was speaking Friday at a workshop on Internet development trends held at the Presidential Office.
Ma urged officials to develop a new way of thinking about the Internet so as to draw closer to the people.
"In order to do this, we have to understand that the Internet is fast, immediate, open, and interactive. We have to take the initiative to use the internet to communicate with the public," said Ma. "The Internet is not only a platform or a tool. It is a way of thinking, a lifestyle, and simply put, a new culture," he said.
President Ma said that he saw the importance of building Internet infrastructure 15 years ago when he was mayor of Taipei. He said that the world is different now, and government agencies cannot hold out against the Internet anymore. Ma urged government agencies to take the initiative to make the inner workings of the government more transparent to the people, and to welcome more citizens to express their opinions about the government online.