10/04/2025
April 10, 2025
Press release of Taiwan Lily Justice Association
The Negligent Ministry of Digital Affairs
The Rampancy of Fraud Syndicates
The severity of the rampant fraud syndicates in Taiwan is evident. According to statistics from the National Police Agency, in the six months from September 2024 to February 2025, Taiwanese citizens suffered financial losses of approximately NT$64.7 billion due to fraud (based on reported cases). It is believed that unreported cases would make the real number even higher. This is why the public harbors deep resentment toward these fraud groups. The fraud syndicates are so inhumane that they even prey on retired seniors, the working class, and indigenous people in remote areas, causing many people to fall into despair and even commit su***de. Don't the Ministry of Digital Affairs who are responsible for combating fraud have to take responsibility?
Responsible Government Agencies
At present, the main agencies responsible for anti-fraud efforts in Taiwan are the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) and the National Police Agency (NPA) under the Ministry of the Interior (MOI). The National Police Agency officially launched the “165 Dashboard” at the end of August 2024. Its content is comprehensive and clearly presented. The National Police Agency, local police departments, and the criminal investigation system can all be considered Taiwan’s most direct and robust forces in combating fraud.
According to this committee’s investigation, the Ministry of Digital Affairs has not provided relevant assistance to the National Police Agency, nor has it engaged in cross-departmental coordination. In other words, both sides are operating their anti-fraud efforts independently in two separate channels.
The Negligence and Deception of the Ministry of Digital Affairs
Our association hereby presents five key pieces of evidence to support this claim:
1. Minister Yennun Huang of the Ministry of Digital Affairs Suspected of Openly Deceiving Senior Government Officials and the People of Taiwan
On February 26, 2025, during an episode of the TV program “Qi You Ci Li,”(How unreasonable) Minister Yennun Huang (MODA) gave an exclusive media interview in which he proudly discussed how the Ministry of Digital Affairs oversees the four major online platforms—Facebook, Line, TikTok, and Google—and spoke at length about the Ministry’s so-called achievements in combating fraudulent ads on these platforms.
At 33 minutes and 56 seconds into the interview, Minister Yennun Huang stated (paraphrased):
“We have an online fraud reporting and inquiry platform. From around the end of September or early October last year up to the Lunar New Year, we received about 120,000 reports. Among these, around 60,000 were indeed fraudulent ads, and we had them taken down.”
At 35 minutes and 41 seconds, he added (paraphrased):
“On the four platforms we supervise, we did see a significant drop in scam ads, with a decrease as high as 80% to 90%.”
The takedown of 60,000 fraudulent ads and a drop in scam ads by 80% to 90%—such figures would suggest an extraordinary accomplishment. However, a thorough search of the Ministry of Digital Affairs’ official website reveals no publicly available data to verify Minister Huang’s claims. In stark contrast, the 165 Anti-Fraud Dashboard operated by the National Police Agency is publicly accessible and fully transparent.
According to our understanding, the 165 Anti-Fraud Dashboard relies on rigorous data, all of which is uploaded only after scam victims file official reports and written statements. The dashboard indicates that from September last year to February this year, approximately 48,000 suspected fraudulent ads were taken down.
The Taiwan Lily Justice Association thus questions Minister Huang of MODA: Where is the evidence to support your claims of 60,000 fraudulent ads being removed and an 80–90% drop in scam ads? Are these achievements truly from your Ministry’s efforts, or are you “stealing credit” for the results of the National Police Agency?
Furthermore, the Online Scam Reporting and Inquiry Platform app launched by the Ministry of Digital Affairs was already taken down and under revision as early as October 2024. Yet Minister Yennun Huang continues to exaggerate its impact on media programs and publishes misleading statistics in various media outlets.
Minister Yennun Huang, if you cannot produce concrete evidence, then you are openly deceiving senior government officials and the people of Taiwan!
2. Minister Huang Suspected of Fabricating Political Achievements
In the same TV program, at 30 minutes and 39 seconds, Minister Yennun Huang stated (paraphrased):
“For example, we have some tools that actively scan for problematic ads. If we detect an issue, we instruct the four major platforms to take down these ads, and we require them to remove them within 24 hours.”
However, according to our association’s investigation, the claim of ads being taken down “within 24 hours” is highly questionable due to the following facts:
o Each major online platform has its own specific regulations regarding the takedown of ads. For example:
Facebook: Requires a scam-related community post URL linked to a verified victim case.
LINE: In scam-related cases, it requires documentation of the offending LINE ID or link. Suspension is only considered if one of the following is met: the account uses scam language, sends scam links, or refers users to scam customer service/LINE groups. Additionally, a screenshot of the scammer’s LINE account (ID, link, or QR code) or chat records must be submitted.
Google: The platform requires confirmation of whether the suspicious video link is still active. Only then can the link or channel be reported using an official government reporting form for Google’s review.
Given how strict and complex the takedown procedures are across these platforms, how can Minister Huang claim that they can remove ads “within 24 hours” at the Ministry’s request? If this is truly the case, we call on the Minister to provide concrete evidence!
3. Minister Huang Taking Credit While Shifting Blame
According to the same media interview, the Ministry of Digital Affairs issued an official directive in November 2024, requiring online advertising platforms to cooperate with the government and restrict or remove suspected scam ads within 24 hours. Based on this, Minister Yennun Huang claimed that approximately 60,000 fake ads have been taken down in the past six months—crediting these removals as achievements of the Ministry and himself.
However, based on the Taiwan Lily Justice Association’s investigation, as early as May 2023, the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the National Police Agency had already reached an agreement with online platforms. They notified police units across Taiwan to upload relevant case data to the Criminal Investigation Bureau, and the platforms would then cooperate in taking down scam-related ads.
Once again, senior officials of the Ministry of Digital Affairs appear to be stealing the credit for the achievements of the National Police Agency under the Ministry of the Interior.
4. Disregard for the People’s Property and Compromising Senior Government Leaders
o In February and March 2025, the Ministry of Digital Affairs introduced the “Enhanced AI Startups Investment Initiative” and the “Taiwan Digital Identity Wallet” policy. These policy directions by Minister Huang are difficult for the public to accept. First, the AI investment initiative involves spending NT$10 billion on private industry—during the selection process, is it not possible that cronyism or profiteering could occur?
o Furthermore, the “Taiwan Digital Identity Wallet” raises even more doubts. It is neither a digital ID card nor does the Ministry plan to issue any new official documents through it—so what is its actual purpose? It appears to be nothing more than a waste of taxpayers’ money!
5. Deputy Minister Lin Yi-ching Spreads Disinformation and Creates Fake News
During the review of the “Central Government General Budget for Fiscal Year 2025,” the Central News Agency reported on January 20, 2025, that Deputy Minister Yi-Jing Lin of Digital Affairs warned of severe consequences if the Ministry’s budget were cut. He claimed the public would face disruptions such as: no access to online tax filing, inability to book Taiwan Rail tickets online, inability to handle household registration across counties, loss of access to bus schedules online, and rural residents unable to watch news broadcasts on television.
However, after verification by the Taiwan Lily Justice Association:
o The Ministry of Finance began offering online income tax filing services in 2011.
o Taiwan Railways began online ticket booking in 1997.
o The Ministry of the Interior’s household registration system was nationally connected in 1997.
o The Ministry of Transportation launched the Dynamic Bus Information System in 2013.
o The NCC completed the nationwide digital transition of terrestrial television in 2012.
Clearly, various government agencies began building internet-based and digital public services decades ago, with relevant budgets allocated to the respective departments. How could these functions possibly be affected by budget cuts to the Ministry of Digital Affairs—a ministry that was only established in 2022?
Deputy Minister Lin’s claim that cutting the Ministry’s budget would negatively impact the public is completely baseless. His outrageous statements amount to fake news and deliberate fear-mongering, openly intimidating the people of Taiwan!
Our association respectfully urges the leader of Taiwan to immediately remove Minister Yennun Huang and Deputy Minister Herming Chiueh from their positions and refer them for legal investigation.
From our origins as a grassroots civic group to becoming an established NGO, the Taiwan Lily Justice Association has operated with integrity for over eight years and is willing to take full legal responsibility for this statement.
Taiwan Lily Justice Association
Chairman: HSU SHAO-CHAN
April 2025
Mail: [email protected]
