The Ministry of Culture is to reform the nation’s cultural content industry to protect “cultural sovereignty” from the threat of digital streaming, Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te (李永得) said on Sunday.
Lee’s remarks were published in a ministry statement released after the conclusion of the National Culture Congress, held on Saturday and Sunday.
This year’s event consisted of six symposiums with professionals and experts working in culture and arts.
Photo: CNA
Amid the rapid growth of digital content and streaming, young people have an abundance of information readily available from around the world, and the government must help develop the Taiwanese content industry to protect the nation’s cultural sovereignty, the ministry said.
The ministry is seeking to consolidate the nation’s resources and continue to work with experts to find solutions to preserve cultural sovereignty, it said.
Sunday’s talks covered four main topics: visual arts, performing arts, digital cultural communications and the application of technology to culture, it said.
The congress, which is usually held every four years, was for the first time delayed for a year, after last year’s event was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lee said the event was fruitful, adding that he learned a lot from speaking with people who work in cultural preservation and promotion.
The congress is intended to collect opinions from a wide range of sectors and map out national cultural development.
This year’s congress yielded 122 suggestions that Lee described as “culture policies” the ministry would either consider or carry out after internal discussions.
The ministry spent almost an entire year mapping out the topics for this year’s symposiums, and collecting opinions from the public and professionals working in cultural sectors, Lee said.
While Taiwanese are proud of the nation’s rich cultural foundation, Taiwan’s cultural production capability has been insufficient, resulting in policies often implemented with unclear goals, he said.
To address the long-unresolved problem, changes must be made to budgets for programs and in how the nation thinks about culture, he said.
Cultivating talented people dedicated to the development of the nation’s cultural content industry would also help tackle the problem, he added.
Information about the congress, such as discussions, are to be posted on the event’s Web site (https://nccwp.moc.gov.tw).
Suggestions and ideas about the topics addressed at the congress can also be submitted on the site, the ministry said.
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