The government may allow the import of books and movies from China soon, local media reported yesterday.
The Government Information Office (GIO) plans to complete its revision of administrative orders to allow the imports by the end of next month, the report said. But Chinese newspapers and magazines will remain banned, as advertisements from China are still prohibited, said GIO Director-General Arthur Iap (葉國興).
The books will be allowed into Taiwan without any review, but the GIO may ban the sale of any book found to contain Beijing's "united front" propaganda or any indecent material.
Chinese movies, meanwhile, will be reviewed before they are imported and the number will initially be limited to about 10 a year.
Reaction from publishers to the new measures has been mixed, with those already doing business with Chinese publishers applauding and those who stand to suffer from Chinese competition crying foul.
Thanks to lower printing costs, the price of a book from China can be as little as one-sixth of its price in Taiwan. The Taiwanese book market could be jeopardized once Chinese publishers start printing books in the traditional characters used in Taiwan and dump them across the Strait, the report quoted unnamed publishers as saying.
The GIO is now discussing with three publishers' associations possible working procedures for resolving disputes between publishers and book vendors on the two sides of the Strait.
All three associations have expressed an interest in playing the role of arbitrator in any trade dispute, given the lack of official contact between the two sides, even though Iap believed it would be better to resolve trade disputes within the WTO framework.
On March 25, Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) and GIO Deputy Director-General Lee Cher-jean (李雪津) promised lawmakers that they would amend regulations within two months to open up the local market to Chinese publications.
The issue of lifting the ban on Chinese publications is controversial. In February, around 5,000 books imported from China by a local bookstore were held by customs for violating import rules.
According to current rules, publications, movies and radio and television shows produced in China are prohibited from being distributed and sold in Taiwan without first obtaining permission from the GIO.
The pressure to open the local market to publications from China comes from students and academics, who need the material for academic purposes, and publishers, who foresee the potential for Chinese publications in Taiwan.
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