Audrey Tang: Let’s get started.

Dawid Jańczak: Three, two.

Audrey Tang: Right…

Dawid Jańczak: I’m not sure if you can help me with this, but…Oh, thank you. I’m sorry I don’t have my business card…

Audrey Tang: Yeah, I was involved in the original planning, but not the day-to-day execution of this. It’s an NDC policy.

Dawid Jańczak: Yeah, because I was talking to Tom Fifield. I’m not sure if you…

Audrey Tang: To who?

Dawid Jańczak: Tom Fifield. I’m not sure if you remember him. I’m pretty sure he talked to you as well.

Audrey Tang: Ah, Tom.

Dawid Jańczak: Tom, yes. He is living in Banqiao. He’s also a software engineer. He was one of the first people to actually get the gold card.

Audrey Tang: That’s right, yes.

Dawid Jańczak: He suggested that I see you with this. The thing that I’m wondering about here is specifically the point about…

Audrey Tang: Eligibility prerequisite.

Dawid Jańczak: Yes, exactly. I think it’s this one that I’m interested in.

Audrey Tang: It’s about the documents proving the work experience are relevant to you?

Dawid Jańczak: Yeah, exactly. Work experience-wise, that’s no problem. The problem I’m having is the awards thing, because that…

Audrey Tang: Awards?

Dawid Jańczak: Yeah, that’s the…Where is it? The first one is just the document confirming the time that I worked. The second one was some kind of confirmation that I worked with particular technologies in the field, where the third one is, yeah, it was the on board…

Audrey Tang: It’s not like you have to give all of it, for example this cause for technology licensing contract. If you work in the field that there is no patent or licensing application – for example, in fashion design, there is no such thing as a patent, sometimes not even copyright  – in which case, there will be no technology licensing contract.

Dawid Jańczak: Basically, what happened is I submitted the two documents that I have. Then they called me back from the Ministry of Labor, I believe. Tom was quite surprised that it’s the Ministry of Labor calling me, not the Ministry of Technology.

Dawid Jańczak: It seems that they want a receipt with giving the documents to Ministry of Technology, unless I meet all the criteria that are in the document.

Audrey Tang: What I’m trying to say is that, if it’s not applicable, then you should probably just tell them that: “it’s not applicable.”

Dawid Jańczak: OK, that’s easier than I thought, actually. With licensing, it’s tricky, especially with all…That’s the other thing. I thought that the award was necessary, but for example, there is no mention here of open source, which…

Audrey Tang: That’s what I mean, because if you don’t have a document-ratifying receipt or things like that, I think all you have to do is to provide a written note to explain why that is not applicable in your field or in your line of work.

Audrey Tang: For example, if it were me, then I really don’t have any technology patent. Then I will write a small note saying that I work on open source technology. It is actually against our fashion to get a patent. I am against software patents in general, anyway. [laughs]

Dawid Jańczak: Fair enough.

Audrey Tang: Things like that. Basically, for the Ministry of Labor, what’s required is just this procedure requirement that, for each of these tick boxes, they have to have an A4 paper or something. That’s just a procedural requirement.

Dawid: Even if that paper just states that…

Audrey Tang: The content may actually say that, “In my field, there is no such thing as patents.”

Dawid Jańczak: Ah, OK, understood. That’s what I need to do, just that’s it, just upload it. From what I talked to the lady at the ministry, it sounded like, unless I have an award, that there is no way that I’m considered.

Audrey Tang: Of course, they would strongly prefer that you have a professional field award. It could be not necessarily internal. It could be an internal, domestic recognition. It can be a, like in the Perl community, we used to have this White Camel Award, which is just the community giving to community contributions.

Audrey Tang: It could be domestic. Whether it qualifies as major or not, that’s up to the Science and Technology Ministry, Economy Ministry, or whatever. There is a jury panel. The MLL will strongly prefer if you have something.

Dawid Jańczak: Fair enough. Really, what I have to do is just resubmit the letter saying that I am against that and listing all of my contributions.

Audrey Tang: Right. Any recognition would do. It doesn’t have to be an international award, like the Nobel Prize or something.

Dawid Jańczak: Yeah, it sounded like obviously they would require it.

Audrey Tang: There is no Nobel Prize in our field, either. [laughs]

Dawid Jańczak: Exactly, so that’s what I wasn’t sure of. OK, brilliant. Then I think that’s it. That’s really all I needed to know. Another small thing that I wanted to ask you, just not really connected to…

Audrey Tang: Sure, it’s fine.

Dawid Jańczak: It’s foreigner-related. How should I report cases? Like a really minor case would be a bus stop sign.

Audrey Tang: A what?

Dawid Jańczak: A bus stop sign, where a Chinese name is correct and the English name is not.

Audrey Tang: In Taipei City, you just call 1999 or something.

Dawid Jańczak: That’s exactly…I didn’t call them, and maybe that’s the problem, because I wasn’t sure if they speak English. I sent them an email in English. I did receive a reply saying that that’s fixed, however, it’s just not. It’s still there.

Audrey Tang: Huh.

Dawid Jańczak: Then I replied to them saying that that’s fixed, but I didn’t get any reply.

Audrey Tang: The 1999, I think, have had for five years now a free interpretation service.

Dawid Jańczak: OK, so I just call them.

Audrey Tang: Which means probably that they will have people in English.

Dawid Jańczak: Just call them, rather than writing an email.

Audrey Tang: That’s right.

Dawid Jańczak: OK, brilliant. I think that’s it. Thank you so much, then, that case.

Audrey Tang: Cheers, thank you.

Dawid Jańczak: Thank you.