Expanding National Development Fund Investment, Ministry of Culture Strengthens the Foundation of the Film and Television Industry

(Taiwan TB News Network / Reporter Gu Jiawen) In recent years, Taiwan's film and television industry has encountered bottlenecks in funding, talent, distribution channels and other aspects, resulting in a decline in both output and production value. Since taking office, Minister of Culture Zheng Lijun has extensively sought advice from experts across all fields of the film and television industry, seeking an overall transformation of support policies, hoping to inject immediate warmth while also building a mid- to long-term development policy framework. On the 10th, Zheng Lijun was invited to attend the press conference for the launch of the anthology drama series "Qiang Theatre," produced under the supervision of director Wang Xiaodi and funded by the Ministry of Culture's Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development, where she declared that in addition to the existing subsidy mechanism, the government would expand National Development Fund investment in the film and television industry in the short term, and in the mid- to long-term would establish a professional intermediary organization and set up a revolving fund to inject new vitality into Taiwan's film and television industry.

Zheng Lijun stated that film, television and music are expressions of national culture and an important strategic industry for the nation, and that the government must reposition its support policies. In the future, it will strengthen efforts in multiple areas, including diversified funding, the establishment of intermediary organizations, expanding distribution channels, and connecting with the public broadcasting group to cultivate talent, so as to balance the fundamental cultural aspects with the industry's market competitiveness. In terms of diversified funding, a dual-track system combining awards and subsidies with investment and financing will be adopted in the future to meet the diverse needs of the film, television and cultural industries.

Among these, the award and subsidy mechanism will focus more on laying the foundation for the fundamental aspects of film and television culture, including talent cultivation, innovative experimentation, and works with cultural characteristics. Zheng Lijun also cited "Qiang Theatre" as an example, stating that although Taiwan's film and television workers face difficult circumstances, they still rely on free creativity to develop works of various genres and forms. In addition, regarding the implementation of box office transparency under Article 13 of the Film Act, the Ministry of Culture will hold a public hearing on August 12 to gather opinions from all sectors of society, and after studying ways to improve the technical aspects and credibility of data provision, will implement it as soon as possible.