taiwan news.com
2003-03-22 / Taiwan News, Staff Reporter / By Vito Lee

CCA, artists and lawmakers reach consensus on creative industries

Hundreds of artists and people involved in Taiwan's art scene attended a seminar entitled "Creative Vision, Creative Taiwan," held at Taipei's Hua Shan Art Center yesterday. Art authorities and legislators shook off previous disagreements and promised to join forces in developing Taiwan's creative industries (CI).

"In June last year, the Council for Cultural Affairs (CCA) handed its proposal on CI to the legislature. It was a very rough plan," said Lee Yung-ping (李永萍), a lawmaker from the opposition People First Party, "But today's seminar shows that the CCA is on the right track."

CCA's NT$650 million budget for CI this fiscal year was frozen in the legislature's Culture and Education Committee the part of the budget covering CI finance will be sent to the entire legislature for revision next Monday. Included as part of the Cabinet's "Challenge 2008" national development plan, CI are estimated to increase to revenues by two fold and double their employment by the end of 2008.

"In the development of CI, Taiwan is already lagging behind. We can't afford to delay the construction of infrastructure. So I want to thank Lee for her support," said Tchen Yu-chiou (陳郁秀), chairperson of CCA.

CCA's NT$650 million CI budget will be mainly spent on the establishment of five "creative industrial parks" and educating relevant talent. The designated locations of these five parks are Taipei, Taichung, Chiayi, Taiwan and Hualien, on the property of Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation.

Yesterday's seminar was one of a series of public debates on CI development in Taiwan. "In Taiwan, people who choose artistic creation as their profession suffer from difficulties in funding. Taiwan is rich in artistic talent, but artists don't have access to investment," said Alex Guo, CEO of Artkey Co., Ltd., a small performing arts company.

(http://www.etaiwannews.com/Taiwan/2003/03/22/1048298077.htm)

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