⚖️ On May 31st, my office (Public Digital Innovation Space, PDIS) was invited by MP Ch’iu Chih-wei to take part in the preparation and implementation of the Public Hearing on “Non-Disclosure of Information under Investigation”.

🎙️ This is the first time that we have tried a new mode of cooperation with the Legislative branch, marking a new chapter in Taiwan’s progress of open government. On this occasion, I would like to express my gratitude and affirmation of MP Ch’iu Chih-wei’s invitation and breakthrough.

🆕 There are three main points of difference between this public hearing and those in the past:

👂 First, we conducted a comprehensive series of pre-hearing interviews. Previously, organizers would invite as many stakeholders as possible to take part so that a diversity of opinions could be collected. However, an increase in the number of attendees and speakers often led to time restrictions on each speaker to express and exchange opinions at the meeting.

💬 In view of this, the PDIS host team and the committee office conducted a total of 10 interviews prior to the meeting. Through a painstaking investigation of the “non-disclosure of information under investigation regime” and detailed records, we made sure that all participants have received the stakeholders’ complete views and suggestions one week in advance. In other words, the synchronization and focus of opinions had already begun before the meeting officially started.

📊 Second, like other major policy issues, the context of the “non-disclosure of information under investigation regime” is profound and far-reaching. In order to enable all participants as well as viewers watching the live webcast in real time to keep up with the rhythm of the discussion and not “lag behind” in the process, we used Issue Mapping as an auxiliary tool on the hearing day. That is to say, using the charts, the non-disclosure of information under investigation regime was divided into several major programs, the implementation process and difficulties of each individual program was listed, and the causal relationship between them was linked in the correct order, so that everyone could just “click the map and follow the track” at any time.

📜 Third, the public hearing was livestreamed and open to online questions. A complete transcript was published on the PDIS website (track.pdis.tw) afterwards. The purpose of doing so was not only to have a complete record of the meeting but also to allow relevant discussions to continue beyond the meeting and to provide a reference guide.

🚀 This successful endeavor paves the way to future cross-institutional collaborations. On the 31st, Executive Yuan member Ch’iu Chih-wei also said that he will be conducting another public hearing three months after the implementation of the “Non-Disclosure of Information Under Investigation Act” on June 15th. We look forward to more Legislative public hearings and to further cooperations with MPs.