Then published in a format that resembles today's glossy offerings, DTM's 100 full-color pages of detailed articles and high-quality photographs proved a big hit with the local market. Initially produced every two months, booming sales saw the zine change over to a monthly release after just four issues.
In April of the same year, another magazine, Defense International, arrived on the scene, and until today, these two publications still top the industry in terms of readership and advertising revenues. Although neither management teams of the respective journals are willing to confirm exact figures, industry analysts estimate that both titles have a circulation of more than 3,000 copies each per month, including subscriptions and retail sales.
Following the success of DTM and DI, more than a dozen competitors that cover identical or similar topics entered the fray, and after a quarter of century, there are now around 10 military-related magazines published in Taiwan. Half of them, like DTM and DI, are categorized as titles that provide analysis and information on broader topics, including the latest development of new weapon systems or technology, worldwide and regional military situations, as well as introducing readers to weapons from bygone eras. The others are dedicated to specific themes, such as paintball games, historical reenactment or the history of war.
According to Kevin Cheng, editor-in-chief of Asia-Pacific Defense--another Taiwanese monthly publication that covers military affairs mainly related to the local region, and who also worked for DI from 1991 to 2007--the golden age for the island's military zines was during 1990s, which is also the final decade before the Internet emerged as the dominant new media. "In the beginning, it was relatively easy and profitable to found a military magazine," he said. "Low start-up costs and overheads meant that for titles with a sound business plan, it was difficult to go wrong."
With Taiwan's military magazines of the day basically imitations of their better-known foreign counterparts, Cheng explained that editors of the island's publications simply translated articles, and reused photos from overseas offerings without permission of the authors, not to mention neglecting to pay royalties. "But this all changed after Taiwan entered into intellectual property rights agreements with other countries, such as the United States," he said.
One military-publication editor with more than 16 years of experience in the game said that prior to the ROC government's crackdown on IPR violators, the operational costs associated with a typical monthly magazine were so low that it was difficult for publishers not to be in the black. "One could describe the business as being extremely lucrative," the veteran stated.
"During that period before IPR protection and enforcement, both of the leading titles [DTM and DI] sold more than 10,000 copies per month," Cheng said. "The owner of one of the publications told me he could have a net profit of around US$10,000 every month, which is enormous by any standards."
But when it came to covering Taiwan's military, the issue of IPR violations never came into play. Cheng pointed out that due to martial law (1949-1987) and national security matters, the ROC military released only a limited amount of information concerning the nation's armed forces. "The Ministry of National Defense and relevant governmental agencies at that time considered anything linked to Taiwan's military a sensitive issue and, more seriously, a national secret," Cheng said. "So, understandably, the authorities were extremely reluctant to make any information regarding military matters public. That is also the reason why military magazines had to focus on affairs beyond the island's boundaries," he added.
The decline of Taiwan's military-publication industry came after the Internet took hold toward the end of 2000. With thousands of Web sites concentrating on a smorgasbord of specific military-related themes, the circulations of the hard-copy publications started shrinking. "To make matters worse," APD's editor-in-chief said, "the Web sites can provide information instantly, which is a feature that paper-based publications cannot offer."
While the recent slump in Taiwan's economy has contributed to the falling magazine circulation numbers industrywide--the failure of Madame Figaro's local edition in July being the most recent high-profile casualty--Cheng believes that military publications might be somewhat protected from sharing a similar fate. "As our titles contain knowledge related to a specialized field, and the readership has an enthusiastic interest in the content, it is not easy for them to turn their backs and go somewhere else," Cheng explained. "The particular nature of our readers' interests and needs dictates that they will continue to buy."
At the military-publication industry's peak, a typical zine Taiwan did not rely on advertisement sales to make ends meet, Cheng said. But nowadays, the marketing battlefield has changed, with titles upping the ante for advertising dollars in order to keep the doors open. "In general, readers of our industry's publications come from a narrow market segment that consists of military enthusiasts, defense industry watchers or government acquisition experts," he explained. "Therefore, only merchandise that relate to this field, like military miniature models, replica toy firearms, or even real weapons systems, would be effective advertisements."
In addition to playing an educational role in society, the publishers of military magazines are convinced their titles play an integral part in Taiwan's democracy, sharing information with taxpayers on how the government spends its defense dollars and on what types of weapons systems. "The Ministry of Defense, like any other of the world's military administrative organizations, hopes that all the local media--including military magazines--can report the good news only," Cheng stated. "But the nature of our business demands that we offer our readership an unbiased opinion. It is essential that we report the government's shortcomings too."
With Taiwan's US$11 billion weapons package still awaiting approval from Washington, Cheng said that an increasing number of people are turning to the island's military zines for information about the sale and a sign that the deal will be inked soon. "Another area of interest is the F-16 C/D order that Taiwan has been waiting two years to hear back from the United States on," he added.
At present Taiwan operates around 150 F-16 A/B fighting aircraft, which it purchased from the United States in the early 1990s. To replace these obsolete planes, the island has requested a package of 66 F-16 C/Ds--a more advanced model--from the Bush administration. The U.S. government has stalled on its approval amid mounting local media speculation that the deal has been indefinitely put off in light of warming cross-strait relations and Beijing's objections.
Using this situation as the basis for editorial and article content, local military magazines have informed their readers that mainland China has also bought 76 Su-27 fighters from Russia since 1992, and purchased a license for production of another 200 planes in 1995.
Cheng stated that the Russian-made aircraft are considered superior to F-16 A/Bs in all aspects of performance. "So, in order to maintain the island's air power, and in line with mutual interests of Taiwan and the United States, local military publications are urging the U.S. government to approve the sale as soon as possible," he said.
Another military issue that Cheng cited as being of "paramount concern" to publishers is the Taiwan's system of military conscription. ROC Defense Minister Chen Chao-min announced July 31 that the government is planning to convert the nation's military into an all-volunteer force within five years, with the scheme scheduled to commence in 2010.
"For many years, we have voiced the opinion that coming into a high-tech era, the quality of a country's military personnel is more important than the number of soldiers the country can put in the field," Cheng said. "The industry supports the government's decision and hopes that budgetary savings can be reinvested in purchasing better equipment and providing more thorough training."
William Teng, a free-lance writer who authored a dozen books mainly focusing on topics about the history of ROC Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) period, said that beside the mainland market, local military publications, including magazines, should also focus their attentions on non-Mandarin-speaking regions.
"When talking about business opportunities in mainland China, the first area that must be taken into consideration is the nation's huge population of more than 1.3 billion," he said. "Of this number, a small amount might be potential readers of the publications. But the mainland market is notorious for disrespecting intellectual property rights, and this would eventually hurt sales of the magazines."
Teng noted that furthermore, it is estimated at least 30 to 50 military magazines are owned or published by the mainland Chinese government, military or private sectors. "This would make it a fierce battle for Taiwanese publications to finish on top of their counterparts in the mainland." Teng added that moreover, Mandarin is not as popular as English outside the "Greater China area," which includes Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China. "It would broaden the readership if Taiwan's magazines were being translated into English," he said.
At an exhibition held in early August in Taipei City that showcased military miniature models and related paraphernalia, the challenges Taiwan's military-publication industry faces were summed up by a 10-year-old schoolboy. Eagerly leafing through the zines on display at Cheng's booth, he picked up an armful of titles only for his mother to tell him to put them back and choose one. "The demand is definitely out there but there is no hiding the fact that this business is getting tougher in Taiwan," Cheng said. "But when you see sights like that boy at the show, it motivates you to try harder and find new ways to reach tomorrow's customers."
Write to Author at edwinhsiao@mail.gio.gov.tw