Taiwan Party Questions Ye Liu Digital Queen's Head Over Copyright Concerns

Recently, the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) legislative caucus held a press conference in Taipei to raise concerns over the "Digital Queen's Head" demonstration project. The project is a key initiative for the digital reconstruction of Yehliu Geopark, and the TPP expressed apprehension regarding potential financial and copyright issues arising from the endeavor. The caucus pointed out that focusing solely on the "Queen's Head" as a theme would overlook the diverse value of the entire park, while also questioning whether the public funds invested by the government in this project are reasonable.

The "Digital Queen's Head" is not merely the digitalization of a single rock; rather, it utilizes high-precision 3D modeling technology to comprehensively digitalize an area of about three hectares—equivalent to 30,000 square meters—in Zone 2 of Yehliu Geopark. In its response, the Digital Industry Administration of the Ministry of Digital Affairs stated that the project has completed preliminary modeling, covering multiple geological features and ecological environments beyond the Queen's Head. This initiative aims to establish a complete digital twin model to facilitate scientific research, educational outreach, and virtual tourism.

The TPP's concerns primarily focus on three aspects: first, financial transparency, with the caucus demanding the disclosure of detailed budgets and cost estimates; second, copyright and intellectual property rights, expressing worry that the digitalized results could be commercially exploited and used for profit-making activities without authorization; and third, public participation, arguing that there was a lack of adequate public consultation during the decision-making process, which may have ignored the needs of local communities. These concerns reflect the TPP's doubts regarding how the government balances public and commercial interests while promoting digital transformation.

The Ministry of Digital Affairs noted in its reply that the entire project has been incorporated into the national digital transformation strategy and complies with regulations related to "government open data" and "intellectual property protection." The ministry stated that the digital models will be provided to academic and educational institutions through open licensing, while strict terms of use are established to prevent unauthorized commercialization. Regarding the budget, the ministry promised to release a detailed report next month and invite experts and the public to jointly review it.

From a broader perspective, the Digital Queen's Head project is not only a technical experiment, but also an exploration of the digital preservation and sustainable utilization of natural heritage. Through high-precision modeling, virtual reality tours, immersive educational courses, and even online tourism experiences under global pandemic restrictions can be realized in the future, further expanding the international influence of Taiwan's tourism. However, this also requires the government to establish more robust governance mechanisms in digital asset management to ensure that digitalized outcomes create long-term value for society under the premise of respecting culture and the environment.

The recent queries from the TPP and the responses from the Ministry of Digital Affairs reflect the delicate balance in Taiwan between digital transformation and cultural heritage protection. If transparent budget reviews, clear copyright policies, and broad public participation can be achieved, it will help enhance public trust in government digital policies while ensuring that Yehliu Geology