On September 4, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Li Meng-yen along with Minister without Portfolio Audrey Tang, Minister Lee Chung-wei of the Ocean Affairs Council, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Economic Affairs Tseng Wen-sheng, Deputy Minister Wang Kwo-tsai of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Deputy Minister Lin Teng-chiao of the Ministry of Education, Deputy Ministry Shen Chih-hsiu of the Environmental Protection Administration, Director-General Wu Hsin-hsou of the Construction and Planning Agency Ministry of the Interior, and Director-General Chang Chih-sheng of the Fisheries Agency, the Council of Agriculture attended the “Ocean Taiwan Policy Dialogue Forum” where online dialogues with experts, scholars, private groups and people were conducted to gather Ocean Taiwan-related suggestions for the government from all sides.

Minister Lee Chung-wei of Ocean Affairs Council said that the Executive Yuan promoted Mountain Taiwan last year (2019). With the efforts of all the ministries, considerable results have been accomplished and positive feedbacks from mountain enthusiasts have been widely received. This year, in addition to promoting “Mountain Taiwan”, the Executive Yuan further engaged in the promotion of “Ocean Taiwan” to encourage the people to “learn about the sea”, “get close to the ocean”, “enter the ocean”, and “clean the ocean”. The purpose is to enable the general public to tour over the mountains and seas and indulge in the beauty of the lush woods and the whirling sea. This time, Executive Councilor Audrey Tang assisted in opening the digital dialogues. Through “the public policy network participation platform”, the general public’s needs and suggestions were extensively collected. Additionally, the Ocean Affairs Council planned the forum, inviting relevant insterested parties to take part in the discusssions. Concerning the specific recommenations obtained through group discussions, gratitude is extended on behalf of the Executive Yuan. Relevant ministries will be requested to carry out the disposal.

According to Lee Chung-wei, the government has completed the “Ocean Basic Act” and “National Ocean Policy White Paper” compilations, based on which ocean affairs will be promoted in the future. In addition, in order to implement the “Ocean Taiwan” policy, in accordance with the five principles of “openness, transparency, services, education and responsibilities” as disclosed by the Executive Yuan, this council will integrate ocean affairs-related ministries to jointly plan various policy implementation practices, thereby actively engage in opening-up, effective management and the diverse utilization of ocean resources to ensure sustainable oceanic development.

On September 4, about 150 persons from relevant ministries and private groups attended the forum. People from all sides showed recognition of the Executive Yuan’s efforts in promoting the open ocean and proposed many suggestions. The feedbacks and explanations made by the relevant ministries and the recommendations or conclusions obtained through group discussions and panel discussions were included by the operating management agencies for discussion and handling.