2019/12/02
Ministry of National Defense issues a press release in response to the news report of “appropriating restricted budget for purchasing the tablets and not setting up Wi-Fi in the barracks area”. (December 2nd, 2019)
Press Release of Ministry of National Defense
Time: December 2nd, 2019 at 17:45 p.m.
Ministry of National Defense: The customization of tablets aims at well equipping the military personnel and firmly connecting the defensive networks, setting up Wi-Fi is not imperative.
In response to the report of not setting up Wi-Fi and appropriating restricted budget for purchasing the tablets, Ministry of National Defense today (2) expresses a solemn protest against the fabricated and unverified content:
I. Above mentioned project is intended to minimize the general affairs and human resources by utilizing customized tablets to informatize the administrative system and tools and integrate the books and documents and optimize the affairs of internal management at rank and file level, and in turn to lighten the burden of military personnel in general.
II. To be on the safe side, this project is tried out for six months between July and December 2018, the trial shows tablets meet the requirement of rank and file units and can provide support to the shift of stand guard, management, duty of officer and administration. The tablets link to Military Network through wired network, setting up Wi-Fi is not imperative. The separation from general internet is in accordance with the information security policy of Republic of China Armed Forces.
III. In consideration of the urgent need of various units, Ministry of National Defense sets aside restricted budget for the project after completing the related verification process and, in July, 2019, submits the case to Legislative Yuan for future reference in accordance with past practice. Therefore, the accusation made by the media that armed forces take advantage of adjournment of parliament to avoid being supervised is definitely not the truth.
IV. The project aims at well equipping the military personnel and optimizing the organizational structure, as a public instrument, the journalists and editors should take the responsibility of fully investigating into the case so as to ensure presenting truthful contents.