The Ministry of Culture will launch a series of national forums over the next two months to seek consensus on Taiwan's cultural policies, Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai said on Tuesday.
The nine forums will cover the development of the publishing and cultural and creative industries, the future of public media, film subsidiary policies, and ways to build an international network for Taiwan's film, television and music industries.
It will also discuss strategies to support art groups and promote culture in rural areas, review the country's law on cultural heritage preservation, and discuss projections for Taiwan's cultural policies up to 2030, according to the Ministry of Culture.
Taiwan needs to think deeply about how it plans to build its cultural power in the face of a fast-rising China, a gloomy global economy and a trend towards regional partnerships, Lung said during a trip to Matsu, one of Taiwan's outlying islands.
The national cultural forums are aimed at seeking consensus for Taiwan's cultural policies by 'the most practical and specific means,' she said.
The information collected during the forums will be used in the formulation of Taiwan's cultural policies, she said.
Industry experts, representatives and government officials will be invited to participate in the nine weekly forums, the first of which is scheduled for June 28.
Similar consultations on culture will be held in the future, the Ministry said.
Lung and other high-level cultural officials will attend all the forums, which will be streamed live on the Internet.
National Science Council head Cyrus C.Y. Chu, Council for Economic Planning and Development head Yiin Chii-ming and Interior Minister Lee Hong-yuan are among those expected to attend the forums.