Deputy Minister Lin Yi-jing to head Ministry of Digital Affairs

Taipei, Aug. 27 (CNA) Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-jing (林宜敬) has been named the new head of the ministry in a major Cabinet reshuffle that sees 16 top officials take up new posts, Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said in a statement Wednesday.

Lin founded L Labs Inc. in 2002 and was CEO of the educational software company until 2024 when he joined the Cabinet led by Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) at the start of President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) four-year term in May.

Lin replaces Yennun Huang (黃彥男), who announced his resignation on Monday, and becomes the third person to lead the ministry established in August 2022 during former President Tsai Ing-wen's (蔡英文) second four-year term.

Meanwhile, attorney Isabel Hou (侯宜秀), currently secretary general of the Taiwan AI Academy Foundation, is appointed to the post of deputy minister left vacant by Lin, Lee said.

The expertise of Lin and Hou will help them plan for e-governance related issues, including open data, open governance and new technologies, drafting related laws and regulations in response, Lee said.

● Cabinet reshuffle to be finalized this week: Premier

With the Cabinet emphasizing artificial intelligence (AI) in the reshuffle ordered by Lai, the Minister of Digital Affairs led by Lin and Hou is expected to work on Taiwan's plan to become a key player in AI software.

The president's focus on resilience in national defense is also likely to be a key focus for Lin and Chen as the ministry is responsible for the country's digital infrastructure and cyber security.

Another area Lin and Hou are set to work on is tackling fraudulent advertisements on social media platforms in Taiwan, after several banks stopped placing ads on the platforms late last year as part of a boycott to demand the introduction of real-name authentication.

The boycott was backed by the Financial Supervisory Commission, and regulations under the Fraud Crime Hazard Prevention Act were put in place earlier this year.

On Aug. 21, the Ministry of Digital Affairs announced it had fined Meta Platforms, Inc. NT$2.5 million (US$81,651) over 1,763 incidents reported by Taipei City Government about Facebook's failure to comply with the law in June and July.

The formally announced reshuffle covers several major ministries, including the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Ministry of Health and Welfare, while a sports ministry will be established on Sept. 9, with two-time Olympic gold medalist, badminton player Lee Yang (李洋) tapped to become the inaugural minister, according to Lee.