Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) appealed to a visiting Chinese official on Saturday to help clear some of the barriers Taiwanese publishers face in vying for access to the Chinese market.
Chiang, whose agency oversees the publishing industry, said that during a half-hour meeting with Wu Shuling (鄔書林), vice minister of China’s General Administration of Press and Publication, he told Wu of the difficulties and obstacles Taiwanese publishers face in China.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Chiang said one of the issues he cited was the problem of provinces applying different screening standards to publications and he expressed the hope to Wu that Beijing would unify its screening system.
According to the GIO, Wu responded positively to the appeal.
The two officials also discussed the possibility of Taiwan and China holding talks on cross-strait cooperation in the development of the electronic book industry, Chiang said.
The other issue touched on was the possibility of holding negotiations to establish a tangible mechanism on intellectual property protection in the publishing industry, after a cross-strait cooperation agreement on intellectual property took effect on Sept. 12, Chiang said.
Wu arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday for the Sixth Cross-Strait Book Fair that opened the following day at the Taipei World Trade Center.
It is the largest exhibition of books with simplified Chinese characters in Taiwan, with 1.46 million volumes on display.
The fair, which runs through Friday, has been held annually since 2005, with Xiamen and Taipei rotating as host.
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