vTaiwan

vTaiwan operated by g0v

What is vTaiwan?

vTaiwan is a consultation process which brings together government ministries, elected representatives, scholars, business leaders and the general public. It was a proposal in Virtual World Law Adjustment Program to gather opinions and thoughts from Internet users since they will be directly affected by virtual world’s law adjustment. vTaiwan uses digital tools to attract multiple stakeholders and facilitate online deliberation to solve complex problems. The process helps lawmakers implement decisions with a greater degree of legitimacy.

vTaiwan Process Di

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1: THE PEOPLE’S (ONLINE) VOICE The conversation starts via artificial intelligence tools, such as Pol.is – they allow an interactive, dynamic surveys that focuses citizens’ comments and encourages constructive debate.

Government can understand what people think with clarity.

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Citizens, experts, government officials, business leaders and elected representatives engage in debate based on the Pol.Is input. Each respond to the issues, which are clarified and itemized.

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2: REAL DEBATE, LIVE AND ONLINE

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3: DRAFT AN ACTION/LAW Non-governmental stakeholders – specialists in law and transport – draft proposals and publish them online.

4: SUBMIT & MAKE A DIFFERENCE The recommendations or draft legislation is introduced to both the executive and legislative branches of government for enactment as laws or modified regulations.

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vTaiwan Case Study: UberX

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1: THE PEOPLE’S (ONLINE) VOICE Uber’s arrival in Taiwan caused unease – the need for regulation of the service was clear from the input to Pol.Is.

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vTaiwan Case Study: UberX

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The need to regulate Uber and protect established private/public transportation was agreed.

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2: REAL DEBATE, LIVE AND ONLINE

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vTaiwan online live-streamed consultation meeting: UberX

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxHkGq57pWw

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vTaiwan Case Study: UberX taxed

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Uber had to comply with Taiwanese demands of insurance and driver training, and existing services had to agree to broaden their services in response to market demands

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3: DRAFT AN ACTION/LAW

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Taxis are no longer needed to be painted yellow

Ride-hailing apps are free to operate

App-based dispatch systems must display car and driver identification, estimated fare, and customer rating.

Self-set rates are allowed after approved by local authorities

Per-ride taxation is required

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vTaiwan Case Study: UberX

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4: SUBMIT & MAKE A DIFFERENCE Uber agrees to taxes and regulations, and Taipei Taxi Association agrees to work with Uber and improve their services.

Digital Tools Used Note that pol.is is one of the tools we used for opinion collection, other online tools like sli.do, loomio are also feasible for collecting opinions and compute points of controversy online.Â

Visual representation of the vTaiwan consultation process, courtesy of Colin Megill.

vTaiwan Milestones (cont.)

2014-06

2015-03

"Virtual World Law Adjustment Program" kickoff meeting, headed by Minister without portfolio Jaclyn Tsai, with assistance from National Development Council's Regulatory Reform Center.

First live-streamed public consultation meeting with forum participants as attendees.

2014-07

2015-04

Jaclyn Tsai invited each ministry to propose at least one cyberspace-related case for public consultation.

"Equity-based Crowdfunding" regulation ratified by the financial supervisory commission.

2014-12

2015-05

Jaclyn Tsai participated in g0v hackthon and proposed to co-create a consensusbased online policy making mechanism with the civil society.

Company Law Act amendment passed administration review and sent to the parliament.

2015-02

2015-06

vTaiwan.tw launched with two topics: Closely-held corporations and equitybased crowdfunding.

Members of parliament signs Company Law Act amendment into law.

vTaiwan Milestones 2015-07

2016-05

UberX's case enters online discussion phase on vTaiwan, the first case to use Pol.is for stakeholder discovery.

Digital Convergence Laws passed administration review.

2015-11

2016-08

"Classification of Government Data and Licensing Principles" ratified by the national development council, with the national open data license co-written with the civil society.

FinTech sandbox and Company Law Act rewrite (foreign names) enters online discussion phase on vTaiwan, the first cases to use Sli.do for stakeholder discovery.

2016-03

2016-10

Digital Convergence Laws begins consultation on vTaiwan, including the Telecommunication Act designed as the bridge to internet governance.

Audrey Tang, one of the key contributors of vTaiwan, becomes the Digital Minister.

2016-04

2016-12

First live-streamed public consultation in VR360.

Revised Telecommunication Act draft begins request for public commentary; this version includes vTaiwan-like multi-stakeholder mechanism as part of administrative functions.