Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) yesterday touted the ministry’s plans to develop ultra-broadband and “revisit historic scenes” as “very forward-looking” in her explanation of its request for NT$21.46 billion (US$711.6 million) in funds earmarked for the Cabinet’s Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program.
The ministry has submitted subsidy requests of NT$5.66 billion and NT$15.8 billion respectively for its “revisiting historic scenes” and “digital infrastructure construction” projects, Cheng said at a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee.
The projects would be carried out from this year to 2020, with some work set to continue until 2021, she said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“Revisiting historic scenes,” which was listed as an urban and rural construction project under the Cabinet’s plan, would maintain and reinvent historic sites.
It is to incorporate technology into historic sites’ introductions to provide visitors with a better understanding of their historical context, she said.
The project is the first in the nation’s history to incorporate the concept of “cultural governance,” which represents a major step forward, the minister said.
Cultural sites should be added through maintaining and revitalizing existing ones rather than building new ones, which would benefit urban and rural development, Cheng said, adding that future projects proposed by the ministry would be reviewed according to this principle.
The “digital infrastructure construction” project includes plans to develop ultra-broadband services, produce high-resolution television shows, and create TV programs and movies that focus on Taiwanese culture, she said.
The project is to include the establishment of a national cultural database, the creation of TV shows with 4K resolution and the development of over-the-top content — or content distributed online without subscribing to a traditional service — in response to the rise of new media, she said.
Underlining the importance of Taiwanese culture in the broadcasting and film industries, Cheng said that even if bandwidth is upgraded, it would only be “serving other nations’ cultures” if there are no programs that promote Taiwanese culture.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit