Yesterday at a Taipei press conference, officials announced that the Cabinet had passed a proposal that could direct NT$27.5 billion (US$833 million) during the next four years to producers of TV programmes, film, music, digital content and more.
The effort is expected to attract an additional NT$20 billion in venture capital.
Asked to explain the timing, a source at the Government Information Office, Taiwan’s media regulator, said: “The government has selected six industries for investment. The creative industry is on the list.”
The programme will start as early as next month, with this year’s funding coming out of the 2009 budget. Funding for subsequent years needs to be approved by the Legislative Yuan next March.
Agency executives welcomed the news. “There is no reason to think such an initiative in Taiwan will fail to produce results,” said Chris Fay, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Taiwan. “Taiwan has a long history of producing films and TV programmes that perform well across Asia.”
