The legislature yesterday passed several draft changes to the Motion Picture Law that will further liberalize Taiwan's movie industry in preparation for WTO entry.
One provision does away with a requirement that a minimum number of domestically produced films be shown at local theaters. Another proposed change scraps a special tax on imported films.
The provisions were approved by the legislature's Educational and Cultural Committee.
The move is expected to further open the market to Hollywood and other foreign films after Taiwan joins the WTO.
"The deletion of these provisions is necessitated by Taiwan's WTO entry," said Su Tzen-ping (蘇正平), director-general of the Government Information Office.
Though lawmakers cut the protective measures, they included language in the draft changes that says the government must take "measures to ensure the industry's continued existence and development" should local producers be "seriously threatened."
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
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