A series of four regional meetings will be held around Taiwan in preparation for a national conference on economic affairs.
The first meeting will be held in northern Taiwan, in Taipei, from June 21-22. It will be followed by meetings in southern, central and eastern Taiwan.
The deputy minister of the National Development Council, Sung Yu-hsieh, said Sunday that the internet will be used to gauge public opinion during the meetings. He said a live internet feed of the meetings will be available, and users will be able to express their opinions via social media chatrooms. Those opinions will then be voiced at the National Conference on Trade and Economics, which will take place in Taipei on July 26-28.
The three-day conference was proposed by the government in response to student-led protests which occupied the legislature for three weeks earlier this year. The protests focused on a trade agreement with China.
Opposition parties say they intend to boycott the conference.