TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's decentralized internet structure presents significant challenges to any potential shutdown, the digital minister said on Wednesday (Dec. 5). During a session at the Legislative Yuan's Transportation Committee (交通委員會), Digital Minister Yennun Huang (黃彥男) addressed concerns about the feasibility of halting Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信) services under martial law.
Kuomintang (國民黨) Legislator Liao Hsien-hsiang (廖先翔) raised the issue, referencing South Korea's past martial law and its lack of internet control. Huang explained that Taiwan, as a free and democratic nation, lacks a centralized force to control internet traffic and speech. He stated that comprehensively blocking the internet is very difficult, noting the complexity of such an action.
Huang highlighted Taiwan's diverse internet access methods, including undersea cables, which rely not solely on Chunghwa Telecom. Companies like Google and Amazon also maintain these connections, making it extremely difficult to block all external communications. The minister claimed that Taiwan's current mechanisms cannot completely block the internet, contrasting Taiwan's decentralized governance with China's stringent internet controls.