Decision No. 250/2005/QĐ-TTg On the organization and operation of the Government's electronic news website on the Internet

DECISION OF THE PRIME MINISTER

On the organization and operation of the Government's Electronic Information Portal on the Internet

of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to Decree No. 23/2003/NĐ-CP dated March 12, 2003 of the Government on the issuance of the Working Regulations of the Government;

Pursuant to Decree No. 18/2003/NĐ-CP dated February 20, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Government Office;

Pursuant to Decision No. 229/2003/QĐ-TTg dated November 7, 2003 of the Prime Minister on the establishment of the Government's Electronic Information Portal on the Internet of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

Pursuant to Decision No. 100/QĐ-TTg dated January 16, 2004 of the Prime Minister on the appointment of members of the Steering Committee for the Government's Electronic Information Portal on the Internet of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

Considering the proposal of the Minister, Head of the Government Office, and Chairman of the Steering Committee for the Government's Electronic Information Portal on the Internet of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,

DECISION:

Article 1. Position and Functions

1. The Government's Electronic Information Portal on the Internet of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as the Government Website Agency) is a public service unit located at the Government Office; it directly manages and oversees the activities of the Government's Electronic Information Portal on the Internet according to the provisions of the law; operates and functions as an electronic news agency; has its own seal and separate account.

2. The Minister, Head of the Government Office, and Chairman of the Government Website Steering Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Minister, Head, and Chairman of the Steering Committee) directly manages the Government Website Agency.

3. The Government Website Agency is subject to state management over press activities by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism according to the provisions of the law.

Article 2. Tasks and Authorities of the Steering Committee, Chairperson, Deputy Chairpersons, and Members of the Government Website Steering Committee

1. The Steering Committee for the Government Website has the following tasks and authorities:

a) Directing the construction and management of activities of the Government Website; implementing the mission, purpose, form of expression on the Government Website; being responsible before the Prime Minister for the quality, content, and political orientation of the activities of the Government Website.

b) Deciding on the direction, tasks, programs, plans of activities and development projects to improve the quality of content, form, and new technology investment of the Government Website.

c) Directing and guiding the activities of Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government, People's Councils, and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities (hereinafter referred to as Ministries, sectors, localities) in building and ensuring the regular operation of the Government Website.

d) Proposing to the Prime Minister and relevant agencies appropriate policies and measures to develop and enhance the quality of the Government Website.

đ) Members of the Steering Committee participate in leading collective activities of the Government Website; directly directing the activities of their respective Ministries, sectors, and localities in performing the tasks stipulated in Articles 6 and 7 of this Decision.

2. Tasks and Authorities of the Minister, Head, and Chairman of the Steering Committee.

a) Supervising and directing the activities of the Government Website and being responsible before the Prime Minister for all activities of the Government Website; organizing coordination among Ministries, sectors, and localities in participating in the construction and ensuring the operation of the Government Website.

b) Approving project proposals, plans for construction, renovation, improvement of content quality, form, new technology investment, and budget estimates for the operation of the Government Website.

c) Assigning responsibilities to Steering Committee members and urging the implementation of assigned tasks.

d) Issuing regulations on information provision for the Government Website.

đ) Deciding on the staffing of the Editorial Board; plans for building and managing the editorial staff and reporters; rewarding and disciplining officials, civil servants, and employees.

e) Chairing regular meetings every six months and extraordinary meetings of the Steering Committee.

g) Deciding on the establishment of the Editorial Board and the operational regulations of the Government Website Editorial Board.

3. Tasks and Authorities of Deputy Chairpersons

a) Proposing work programs and implementing tasks assigned by the Chairman of the Steering Committee.

b) Directing, inspecting, and urging coordination between Ministries, sectors, and localities in constructing the Government Website and ensuring its operation.

c) Performing other tasks assigned by the Chairman of the Steering Committee.

4. Tasks of Steering Committee Members:

a) Directing the implementation of coordination among Ministries, sectors, and localities in participating in the construction and ensuring regular information provision for the Government Website.

b) Performing other tasks assigned by the Chairman of the Steering Committee.

Article 3. Working regime of the Steering Committee

1. The Government Website Steering Committee operates on a part-time basis, convening once every six months (excluding emergencies) to decide on directions, tasks, and measures for building and managing the Government Website's activities.

2. The Standing Office of the Steering Committee (consisting of the Chairperson and Deputy Chairpersons) meets with the Editorial Board once a month to hear the General Editor's report on the month's activities and provide guidance for the next month's tasks.

Article 4. Tasks and Authorities of the Government Website Agency

The Government Website Agency has the following tasks and authorities:

1. To lead and coordinate with ministries, sectors, and localities to ensure the implementation of information dissemination about the Party’s policies, State laws; the Government and Prime Minister’s directives and management; the implementation status of policies, laws, and regulations issued by ministries, sectors, and localities; economic and social development, national defense and security, and other fields nationwide via the Internet.

2. To disseminate and publicize legal normative documents and other legally binding documents issued by central-level agencies and authorized persons on the Internet.

3. To be the main coordinator and unify the connection of information provision activities through the Internet on the Government Website of administrative state agencies at all levels, aiming to serve the deployment of e-government services and establish online relationships between the Government and citizens.

4. To build an official electronic information database of the Government regarding the situation and activities of administrative state agencies at all levels on the Internet.

5. To manage and organize the updating of the Government Website's content onto the Internet in Vietnamese and foreign languages according to the directives of the Minister, Head of the Agency, and Chairperson of the Steering Committee.

6. To be responsible for receiving legal normative documents, government directives and management documents, and notifications of the Prime Minister's and Deputy Prime Ministers' directives.

7. To receive and request information from ministries, sectors, localities, organizations, and state-owned corporations to be published on the Government Website's network.

8. To be authorized to send staff and reporters to attend and report on meetings and work sessions of the Government, Prime Minister, and Deputy Prime Ministers (except for confidential meetings decided by the Minister, Head of the Agency); in cases deemed necessary by the Minister, Head of the Agency, personnel may be sent to join domestic and international working delegations of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers.

9. To study and apply advanced information technology progress to serve the activities of the Government Website.

10. To implement international cooperation in the activities of the Government Website.

11. To manage organizational structure, staffing, officials, civil servants, and employees; to implement salary systems and incentive policies, rewards, punishments, training, and technical and professional skills enhancement for officials, civil servants, and employees under its jurisdiction.

12. To manage finances, assets allocated according to legal provisions and delegated management authority by the Minister, Head of the Agency, and Chairperson of the Steering Committee.

13. To be provided with initial funding, operational funds, office space, and investment in equipment and professional means.

14. To carry out other tasks assigned by the Prime Minister and the Minister, Head of the Agency.

Article 5. Organizational Structure of the Government Website Agency

The Government Website Agency consists of the Editorial Board and functional departments:

1. The Government Website Editorial Board includes the Editor-in-Chief, three Deputy Editors-in-Chief, and members of the Editorial Board.

The Government Website Editor-in-Chief is appointed and relieved of duty by the Prime Minister upon the proposal of the Minister, Head of the Office, and Chairman of the Steering Committee; he/she is responsible to the Minister, Head of the Office, and the law for all activities of the Government Website.

The Deputy Editors-in-Chief of the Government Website are appointed and relieved of duty by the Minister, Head of the Office upon the proposal of the Government Website Editor-in-Chief and the Director of the Organization and Cadres Department of the Government Office; they are responsible to the Editor-in-Chief and the law for their assigned areas of work.

2. The Government Website Agency has the following functional departments:

a) Secretariat and Management Department;

b) Editing Department;

c) Reporter Department;

d) Reader Relations and External Affairs Department;

e) Technical Department;

f) Administrative and General Services Department.

Article 6. Responsibilities for Building and Managing the Government Website of Ministries, Sectors, and Localities

1. The Government Office is the main agency responsible for establishing the Investment Project for building the Government Website, organizing and managing it to ensure its regular operation and expansion, and development; providing complete, timely, and continuous legal documents, other legal documents, and information on government guidance and management activities to the Government Website (excluding confidential information or documents not to be published); guiding and coordinating with ministries, sectors, and localities in collecting, editing, and providing information content to the Government Website according to the regulations of the Minister, Head of the Office, and Chairman of the Steering Committee; guiding the connection with websites of ministries, sectors, and localities; leading and coordinating uniformly the provision of information through the Internet by these websites.

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment is the main agency, coordinating with the Government Office to include the Government Website project in the annual state investment plan; regularly providing comprehensive economic and social information, national target programs, achievements in national construction and development, and other related information and data within its administrative management scope to the Government Website (excluding confidential information or documents not to be published).

3. The Ministry of Finance is the main agency, coordinating with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Government Office to balance the state budget allocation for the Government Website as a budget item in the annual total budget estimate of the Government Office; balancing the budget for ministries, sectors, and localities to ensure funding for information provision activities for the Government Website; regularly providing information to the Government Website about the national budget, reports on the financial operations of the country, and other related information and data within its administrative management scope (excluding confidential information or documents not to be published).

4. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications is responsible for directing the provision of internet addresses and access permits; ensuring high-speed transmission lines to facilitate the dissemination of Government Website information on the Internet; leading and coordinating with the Government Office and localities to direct the provision of services for accessing the Government Website at Post Offices and Village Cultural and Postal Service Points nationwide; regularly providing information and data within its administrative management scope to the Government Website (excluding confidential information or documents not to be published).

5. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs leads and coordinates with the Government Office in the field of external information and combating false and distorted propaganda by hostile forces; regularly providing information and data on external activities of state agencies and central mass organizations, and other external information within its administrative management scope to the Government Website (excluding confidential information or documents not to be published).

6. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism leads and coordinates with the Government Office to implement state management over the activities of the Government Website; regularly providing information and data on cultural and information fields within its administrative management scope to the Government Website (excluding confidential information or documents not to be published).

7. The State Cryptographic Agency leads and coordinates with the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, and the Government Office to develop plans to protect the security of information and data of the Government Website on the Internet.

8. The General Statistics Office is responsible for regularly providing processed information and data to the Government Website (excluding confidential information or documents not to be published).

9. Ministries, sectors, and localities direct competent agencies to unify the organization of updating, compiling, and processing information on their respective fields of activity and state management tasks assigned by the Government, daily providing processed information to the Government Website within their authority (excluding confidential information or documents not to be published), and being responsible for the provided information. Directing competent agencies to connect their websites with the Government Website.

Article 7. Responsibilities for organizing and providing information coordination of Ministries, sectors, localities, and units under the Office of the Government

1. Information posted on the Government’s Website is official, authorized, and public. Any acts that distort or destroy information and data on the Government’s Website shall be handled according to the provisions of the law.

2. Ministries, sectors, and localities have the responsibility to provide promptly, fully, and accurately to the Government’s Website information about policies and laws of the Party and State; the operational situation of Ministries, sectors, and localities in implementing the policies and laws of the Party and State.

3. The relationship between the Government’s Website Agency and the designated focal organizations of Ministries, sectors, and localities (hereinafter referred to as focal organizations) is as follows:

a) The Government’s Website Agency leads and coordinates with focal organizations to carry out tasks prescribed in Article 4 of this Decision.

b) Focal organizations regularly provide processed information to the Government’s Website according to the regulations of the Minister, Head of the Office, and Chairman of the Steering Committee.

4. Relationship between the Government’s Website Agency and units under the Office of the Government:

a) The Government’s Website Agency coordinates with units to perform functions and tasks according to the Working Regulations of the Office of the Government and the provisions of this Decision.

b) Units under the Office of the Government daily compile information on government guidance and management activities of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers within their areas of oversight to provide promptly to the Government’s Website according to the regulations of the Minister, Head of the Office, and Chairman of the Steering Committee.

c) The Administrative Affairs Department is responsible for sending to the Government’s Website legal normative documents, guidance and management documents of the Government and Prime Minister, notification documents of guidance and management opinions of the Government, Prime Minister, and Deputy Prime Ministers, and files of these documents after issuance (excluding confidential information and documents not to be published).

d) The Official Gazette Department is responsible for coordinating to update laws and ordinances on the Government’s Website.

đ) The Computing Center is responsible for ensuring continuous and smooth technical operation of the internal network of the Government’s Website Editorial Board.

e) The spokesperson for the Prime Minister coordinates with the Government’s Website Agency to fulfill spokesperson duties with the press on the Internet according to the provisions of the law.

Article 8. Budget and Staffing

1. The operating budget of the Government’s Website Agency is provided from the state budget and consolidated in the budget of the Office of the Government.

2. The staffing of the Government’s Website Agency is decided by the Minister, Head of the Office within the total annual staffing of civil servants of the Office of the Government.

Article 9. Effectiveness and Responsibility for Enforcement

1. This Decision shall take effect 15 days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette. Previous provisions contrary to this Decision are hereby abolished.

2. Ministers, heads of ministries equivalent to ministries, heads of agencies under the Government, Chairpersons of People's Councils, Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities, members of the Government’s Website Steering Committee, and Chief Editors of the Government’s Website are responsible for implementing this Decision./.