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Officials to meet to boost cross-strait cultural ties

Officials from Taiwan and China will meet to exchange views and discuss ways to boost bilateral cultural activities later this year in Beijing, Council for Cultural Affairs Chairwoman Huang Pi-twan (黃碧端) said yesterday.

Huang said the two sides would hold a “cultural summit” in September in the Chinese capital to delve into several issues important to the promotion of cross-strait cultural exchanges.

“Culture is the largest common ground between Taiwan and China, and the two sides should set up a channel of negotiation,” she told a news conference.

Huang revealed that she might take part in the Beijing summit and said that an upcoming forum between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Communist Party of China, scheduled for July in Changsha, Hunan Province, would also touch on the topic of cultural exchanges.

At the Beijing meeting, officials from both sides will negotiate issues such as arranging exchange visits by cultural officials, organizing exhibitions, protecting intellectual property, cooperating on movie making and the promotion of Taiwanese art, Huang said.

Huang said the Taiwan pavilion to be built at the Shanghai World Expo next year would highlight Taiwanese culture and that the council would put forward several ideas and proposals to the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), which is in charge of its construction.

Recent improvements in cross-strait relations have focused on regular, direct transportation links, as well as boosting trade and investment.

Taiwanese pop culture is already widely influential in China, but movies, performance art and other cultural exchanges are still not that widespread, analysts said.

The import of Chinese contemporary culture to Taiwan is much more uncommon, with no Chinese TV channels accessible, few Chinese movies shown and few Chinese singers performing in Taiwan, analysts said.
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