National Communications Commission

Guidelines for Archive and Government Information Applications

1. The Guidelines are promulgated by National Communications Commission (hereinafter referred to as NCC) to implement applications for viewing, copying or duplicating archives and government information (hereinafter referred to as archive and information applications) as prescribed in Archives Act and The Freedom of Government Information Law.
   Any matters that are not specified in the Guidelines shall be in compliance with their respective regulations.
2. Those who apply for archive and information applications shall complete the NCC’s Archive and Government Information Application Form (hereinafter referred to as the Application Form, as Attachment 1) and specify the reasons of submitting the application therein. For those who appoint others to submit the application, NCC’s Power of Attorney for Archive and Government Information Applications (as Attachment 2) shall also be completed.
   The applications referred to in the previous Paragraph may be made by the applicant or agent in person or by mail.
3. With respect to archive applications, NCC shall notify the applicant of approval or overrule within 30 days upon acceptance of the application form and the prescribed evaluation form (Attachment 3) shall be attached to the said notification.
   With respect to applications for government information other than archives, NCC shall notify the applicant of the approval or overrule decision within 15 days upon acceptance of the application form and the prescribed evaluation form (Attachment 3) shall be attached to the said notification. Whenever necessary, the said notification may be made with a delay no longer than 15 days.
4. If an archive and information application does not comply with the formality or requirement set out in the provisions, the applicant shall undertake corrective action within 7 days upon receipt of NCC’s notification of rectification. If no corrective action is taken within the prescribed period or it is deemed to still be incomplete, the application shall be denied.
5. In principle, duplicates can be offered for archive and information applications. Those who electronically store the original shall mainly use the image or duplicate thereof. Where the need of using the original is deemed necessary and an approval has been granted by NCC, the original may be offered for applications. Officials of NCC’s business unit will accompany therewith and will enter the said applications into a registry for reference.
   Where the archive and information applications are involved in copyrights, the applications shall be handled in accordance with Copyright Act. Nevertheless, for those that are not ideal for copying, duplicating and photography or are deemed as infringement of other people’s intellectual property rights or personal information, NCC shall only grant reading applications.
6. Archive and information applications that are in violation with Article 18 of Archives Act; Article 18 of The Freedom of Government Information Law; or Paragraph 2 of Article 46 of Administrative Procedure Act shall be rejected. For application whose partial contents are restricted, the archive and information shall only be provided for other parts of its contents.
7. Upon arrival of NCC or the location designated for archive and information applications, the applicant shall present the approval of NCC; agreement on offering the application evaluation form; and photo identification thereof. The applicant shall then complete required registration process prior to entering the site.
8. When entering NCC or the location designated for archive and information applications, the applicant shall abide by the following rules:

   (1) No drinking, smoking, making noises or engagement in other acts that hinder others;

   (2) No ink, whiteout, pen and other tools that can correct or damage the archive and information. In the case of desiring to use computer equipment, it is necessary to obtain approval from NCC in advance;

   (3) Do not damage the archive, information or the cleanliness and tidiness of the environment;

   (4) No unauthorized power connection or connecting to NCC’s internal network system;

   (5) Do not damage archive and information application equipment offered by NCC;

   (6) Do not engage in any acts against the purposes of archive and information applications.

   The applicant shall not carry the archive and information out of the said location; and shall return before the end of the NCC’s working day. Where the applicant desires to temporarily leave or return the archive and information, officials of NCC’s business unit shall, after checking the archive and information or confirming that that applicant has logged out the application system, return the personal identification to the applicant.

9. When applying for archive and information applications, the applicant shall maintain the integrity of the archive and information. The following actions shall be forbidden:

   (1) Annotations, alteration, change, removal, marking or damage to the content of the archives;

   (2 )Unpicking the bound archives or government information;

   (3) Hacking or stealing NCC’s internal information system or archive and information;

   (4) Destruction or alteration of content of the archives and information by other methods.

10. Where the applicant or agent thereof violates any matters specified in the previous two provisions, NCC shall immediately cease said action and record the violation. Where the said violation is critical, NCC shall revoke the approval thereof and impose punitive measures thereon by law.
11. NCC is open Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; and is closed on weekends and holidays.
12. Upon approval of the archive and information applications, the applicant shall be charged as follows:

    (1) Those who complete the archive and management of files through NCC shall be charged in accordance with “Fee Standards for Viewing, Hand-copying or Duplication of Archives” established by National Archives Administration, National Development Council;

    (2) For documents of an administrative appeal, the applicant will be charged in accordance with “Fee Standards for Administrative Appeal Documents of the Executive Yuan and Administrative Agencies at All Levels” established by Executive Yuan;

    (3) For circumstances described in Paragraph 1 of Article 46 of Administrative Procedure Act or other government information, the applicant shall be charged in accordance with “Fee Standards for the Access to Government Information provided by the National Communications Commission”.

    Upon receipt of the said fees, NCC shall issue a receipt to the applicant or agent thereof.