The draft Culture Basic Law (文化基本法) passed its third review by the Legislative Yuan on May 10, offering protections for and state obligations regarding cultural rights, guidelines for the implementation of cultural policies, separate regulations for cultural governance, legal basis for cultural impact assessments, and relief measures for violated cultural rights. It also addresses how provisions for protecting the rights of cultural and arts workers can be strengthened by providing accompanying resolutions.
Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun thanked the Executive Yuan's Education and Culture Committee for their support of the bill, and expressed her hopes that the various agencies involved will soon set out relevant budgets and amend legislations accordingly. Through such action, Taiwan will be able to make the most of this opportunity to boost cultural governance and respond to the eagerly held expectations of society.
In addition to setting out principles of freedom and equality of cultural citizenship, the Culture Basic Law also laid out how the state should guarantee practices of cultural citizenship in terms of access rights, language rights, intellectual property rights, and the right to participate in policymaking.
To implement the aforementioned objectives, the bill also places responsibility for the execution and direction of 12 fundamental cultural policies in the hands of central and local government agencies, including those guiding cultural preservation, cultural education, museums and libraries, community empowerment, cultural venues, cultural economy, cultural tourism, cultural technology, protection of the rights of cultural and arts workers, and the drafting of cultural communication policies.
A comprehensive set of cultural legislation is fundamental to supporting the cultural development of the nation, and the Culture Basic Law will offer valuable guidelines for the implementation of national cultural policies by ensuring that cultural governance is incorporated into national development and that the core values of cultural diversity and cultural citizenship are realized.
More information on the Culture Basic Law is available here.