The Ministry of Culture sees inter-ministerial cooperation as essential in boosting the local publishing industry's overall development, Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai said at an Executive Yuan meeting today.
Publishing matters not only to a nation's power but also its national security, Lung said, stressing that the publishing sector is closely related to freedom of speech and reflects social thinking and values.
The Minister expressed the hope that the Ministry of Finance could support her Ministry's proposal to make book expenses tax deductible and fund the publishing sector with money collected by the value-added tax.
Lung also said she would like the Public Construction Commission to support the reform of the government's Chinese-language book joint purchase mechanism in order to get rid of the improper phenomenon of 'bidding low to win,' give publishers reasonable profits, and maintain the quality of book collections.
Moreover, establishing the system of selling books at fixed prices is not only an important strategy to help the development of independent bookstores, it will also secure the status of books as both a cultural good and the source of true creativity, noted the Minister. This policy will need strong support from the Fair Trade Commission since it involves the Fair Trade Act, she said.
The issues brought up by Lung led to a lively discussion and heads of many other ministries and agencies responded positively to her suggestions.
Premier Jiang Yi-huahsaid he is glad that Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai has presented a comprehensive policy on the local publishing sector. He then instructed other ministries and agencies to work together with Culture Ministry for the bright future of Taiwan's publishing industry.