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Lawmakers blast GIO for failing to lift nation's image

The Government Information Office (GIO) is devouring government funds without creating and disseminating a positive image for Taiwan on the international stage, both pan-green and pan-blue lawmakers alleged yesterday.

Government Information Office Minister and Cabinet Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) met with fierce criticism yesterday from all quarters while detailing his office's plans in the legislature's Education and Culture Committee to support the music and film industries as a means to garner "soft power."

"In keeping with Premier Su Tseng-chang's [蘇貞昌] concept of `walking the right path and producing solid results,' the GIO is committed to strengthening our partnerships with the film, TV and publishing industries in order to revitalize them and forge a positive international image for Taiwan," Cheng said, referring to a slogan meaning taking decisive action.

Citing a recent Economist article that referred to the Cabinet's campaign to change the name of state-run institutions as a "Cultural Revolution," Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Lin Jih-jia (林志嘉) accused Cheng's office of failing to properly educate foreign media as to the campaign's true intention.

"That's not a positive term, you know," Lin said, referring to "Cultural Revolution," China's disastrous campaign from 1966 to 1976 to stamp out traditional Chinese culture and transform the country into a communist utopia.

"Come on, you should be protecting the country's dignity. How come you're not scrambling to talk to CNN or the BBC, instead of just holding press conferences for local media?" Lin said.

Cheng responded that his office was trying to get its message "out to the world," but Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) told Cheng he wasn't doing enough and that the nation is becoming further marginalized in the world.
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