“We will provide capital, assist in research and development, establish various mechanisms, ease regulations, set up a related fund and provide subsidies to upgrade the industry,” Ovid Tzeng, minister without portfolio, said during a news conference.
The plan was formulated in accordance with the larger policy objectives of the present administration, which has indicated it intends to support six target industries: the cultural and creative industry, tourism, biotechnology, health care, renewable energy and high-end agriculture.
As outlined in the proposal, the government will try to nurture the cultural and creative industry in a number of ways. It will establish a venture-capital firm, whose mission will be to lend financial support to promising start-up companies within the industry.
The administration will also direct the National Development Fund to provide the venture capital firm, which still does not have a name, with NT$20 billion (US$607 million) in investment money. A non-profit organization will also be set up, whose purpose will be to promote the cultural and creative industry.
Within the industry as a whole, six “flagship” industries have been identified: the television, film, and popular music industries, the design business, digital content and handicrafts. An additional NT$27.5 billion, to be used between 2009 and 2013, has been earmarked for these six industries. The administration estimates that its support for the flagship industries will help to create 200,000 new jobs and to generate an annual output of NT$1 trillion by 2013.
Besides financial assistance, the government will support the flagship industries in several other ways. Su Jun-pin, minister of the Government Information Office, noted that the government could help the television, film and music industries reach a much wider audience by making it easier for them to collaborate with their counterparts in mainland China. Television shows and movies could even end up helping the tourism sector, Su said, since tourists might want to visit the locales in which various scenes are shot.
Digital content refers to the process whereby various cultural and learning activities are presented in digital form. A museum, for instance, could digitize its artifacts and display them online using a multimedia format. According to the proposal, with government support the annual output of the digital content business could reach NT$680 billion by 2013, thanks in part to private investments estimated at NT$28.5 billion.
Changes in tax laws are included in the proposal as well; these changes, however, still need the approval of the Legislature. Tax incentives could be given to businesses, for example, that donate tickets for various cultural performances to schools or charitable organizations.
The administration will also encourage local governments to market their regional historical and cultural legacies in an integrated fashion. Huashan Cultural Park in Taipei City, for instance, could promote the performing arts. If done well, “cluster effects” would result, said Chang Yui-tan, deputy minister at the Council for Cultural Affairs. Chang noted that National Palace Museum could promote the digital content, design, and handicraft industries all at once.
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan said May 14 that Taiwan already has a “rich, profound and diverse culture.” In the end it is this culture which forms the soil in which the cultural and creative industry can grow and thrive, he said. “The cultural and creative industry can integrate with the other five industries to increase our nation’s soft power,” he added.
Write to Adela Lin at adela2009@mail.gio.gov.tw