Taiwan’s National Development Council to establish blockchain alliance

The National Development Council (NDC), the policy-planning agency of Taiwan, has announced that it currently in the process of setting up a blockchain alliance, Taiwan News reported referring to a report from Liberty Times.

The agency has already held consultations with a number of government departments as well as experts and academics to describe the mission of the alliance, NDC Minister Chen Mei-ling said.

She believes that Taiwan could play a leading role in the development of blockchain technology and its implementation to enhance public governance.

Mei-ling said that the technology has the potential to improve food safety and help the Council of Agriculture establish a “resume” for food products to trace their origin.

The blockchain alliance is expected to be established three months from now.

Recently, the NDC called upon the central and local governments to work towards building a “smart government,” which would involve “applying innovative technology to connect government services with the needs of the people.” It will seek to leverage emerging technologies such as blockchain, Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence, among others.

The initiative will focus on two important infrastructures – digital identity cards (eID) and a secure and trusted data exchange mechanism.