Regulations

The Implementation Regulations for Archives on Electronic Storage

Promulgated on December 12, 2001
Amendment to 22 articles in all and promulgated on February 10, 2004.
Amendment to Article 17 of Implementation Regulations for Archives on Electronic Storage per the National Archives Administration Decree No. Tang-Dian 09400029461 dated July8, 2005.
Amendment to Article 5 of Implementation Regulations for Archives on Electronic Storage per the National Archives Administration Decree No. Tang-Dian 10100141543 dated September 25, 2012.

Article 1
The Regulations were enacted according to Paragraph 1 of Article 9 of the Archives Act (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”).

Article 2
The terms used in the Regulations are defined as follows:
1. “Electronic Storage” shall mean records processed by electronic equipment such as computers or automated machines and being stored in digital format.
2. “Original Records” shall mean records for Electronic Storage.
3. “Electronic Media” shall mean media used for Electronic Storage, including but not limited to tapes, CD’s and CD-ROMs.
4. “Image/Sound File” shall mean the image or sound information from digitalized Original Records and stored on Electronic Media.
5. “Original Image/Sound File” shall mean the image or sound information preserved directly from digitalized Original Records and stored on Electronic Media.
6. “Duplicated Image/Sound File” shall mean the image or sound information retrieved from Original Image/Sound File managed by software and stored on Electronic Media.
7. “Certification” shall mean the procedures used to prove the contents of Image/Sound File are the same as those on the Original Records by the archives management agency.
8. “Encryption” shall mean processing Image/Sound File in random numbers by algorithm or other methods.
9. “Backup” shall mean to duplicate the content of records to another media under the original technique environment.
10. “Migration” shall mean that in order to read the records in the future, the process to switch the format of software and hard ware when the software or hardware of information system is obsolete or invalid.

Article 3
The operation for Electronic Storage shall be conducted by the agency-in-charge. If necessary, outside parties may be appointed for the job.
The appointment of Electronic Storage under the preceding paragraph shall be at the agency-in-charge or the other appointed place.

Article 4
Permanent records and temporary records shall be stored on separate Electronic Media.

Article 5
When processing the Electronic Storage of archives, the archivist shall comply with the regulations relevant to the regulatory mandates for government document and records management information system and apply proper Electronic Media and read-only storage format.

Article 6
Before processing Electronic Storage for paper records, they shall be organized first and their fastener may be removed if necessary. If they are damaged, they shall be restored immediately. They shall be removed in order and be re-bound as originals after the completion of Electronic Storage.
When processing Electronic Storage under the preceding paragraph, one shall avoid distorting or skipping of pages of the records.

Article 7
Before processing Electronic Storage for photographic records, the preservation status of the photographs, microfilms, positives, negatives or films shall first be examined. If they are damaged, they shall be restored immediately.
When processing Electronic Storage for photographic records, one shall wear cotton or nylon gloves and avoid leaving fingerprints or scratches.

Article 8
Before processing Electronic Storage for videotapes/tapes records, they shall be examined. If they are damaged, they shall be restored immediately.
When processing Electronic Storage under the preceding paragraph, one shall turn off write protect tab on the videotapes/tapes and rewind the videotapes/tapes to the beginning to avoid damaging the content.

Article 9
When processing the Electronic Storage of archives, the following subparagraphs shall apply:
1. Maintain the completion and clarity of the images and sounds.
2. Prevent damage to the Original Records resulting from repeated procedures.
3. Rectify mistakes or deficiencies immediately, if any.

Article 10
When processing the Electronic Storage of archives, the agency managing such archives shall check and ensure that the content shall be the same as on the Original Records. If necessary, they may be managed with Electronic Signature and stored with Encryption.

Article 11
After completion of the Electronic Storage of archives, the archivist shall specify the Electronic Media number and the condition of the Original records on the archives catalogs to facilitate retrieval.

Article 12
After completion of the Electronic Storage of archives, the Electronic Media shall provide a statement file to show “the same as the Originals” and record the subparagraphs as follows:
1. The archives management division.
2. Number of the Electronic Media.
3. Completion date.
4. A list of Image Files.
Duplicated Image/Sound File shall show “Deemed real”.

Article 13
The cover package for Electronic Media shall show the items as follows:
1. The archives management division.
2. Number of the Electronic Media.
3. Completion date.
If the content of the Electronic Media belongs to Classified Archives, the cover package shall show the items according to the relevant laws and regulations.

Article 14
Original Image/Sound Files shall be made in Backup and stored in separate places.

Article 15
The agency processing the Electronic Storage of archives shall review the efficiency of relevant software and hardware periodically and carry out Migration if necessary.
The content of Migration under the preceding paragraph shall be complete and secure and shall be prevented from improper addition, deletion and removal.

Article 16
Before the government agency changes the software or hardware for Electronic Storage, it shall make Backups to prevent loss of data. The same rule applies to Migration.

Article 17
The agency processing the Electronic Storage of archives shall check the Electronic Media periodically. If there is any damage, the material shall be restored. If it cannot be restored, it shall be discarded and be reproduced. If it cannot be reproduced, this situation shall be specified on the archives catalogs.
The destruction of the discarded media under the preceding paragraph shall comply with Article 13 of the Retention Period and Destruction Regulations for Agency Records enacted by the central archives authority-in-charge.

Article 18
The storage area for Electronic Storage shall have proper systems for environmental control and security control in order to prevent damage and loss.
The systems under the preceding paragraph shall comply with the directions relevant to the equipment requirements of archival repository enacted by the central archives authority-in-charge.

Article 19
Electronic Media shall be stored according to their type. They shall be stored in sequence of Electronic Media number. A record shall be made for checking.

Article 20
To certify the authenticity of Image/Sound Files and their duplication, the archives management agency shall first examine and confirm the content as being the same as those in the Original Records and then they may be deemed the same as the originals or deemed real.

Article 21
If it is necessary to reproduce the Original Image/Sound File, it shall comply with the Regulations.

Article 22
The Regulations shall be effective on the effective date of the Act.
The amendments of the Regulations shall be effective on the date of promulgation.
Last Updated: 2020-12-28
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