Taipei (Taiwan News) — Culture Minister Xi Chi (史哲) addressed the media on Wednesday evening (March 27) with a speech in which he expressed hope that Taiwan would soon be recognized as “more than just microchips.”
“As technology becomes mainstream, the way you tell a story to the world becomes more important,” Shih said. He expressed his hope that Taiwan could leverage its freedom and democracy to create compelling stories for television, films, and other cultural outlets.
Xi made the remarks during an event hosted by the Taiwan Journalists Association and the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents Club. Xi said that since taking office, his priorities have been to promote Taiwanese content and build confidence in local creators CNA.
“If the semiconductor industry is the first step for the world to understand Taiwan, it is very important to represent Taiwan with its culture,” Xi said. He believes Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)'s development of manufacturing plants around the world could be a formidable competitor to China's Belt and Road Initiative.
With TSMC setting up factories in Germany, the United States and Japan, the Taiwanese view this as a high-level recognition of our advanced society, Xi said. He said that when he was a child, many people around the world knew Taiwan merely as a manufacturer of umbrellas and, later, of laptops. “Taiwan has not only gained recognition for science, technology and economics, but now has spirit, culture and character, helping it become more complete.”
Xi pointed to the short documentary “An Island Between”, which was shortlisted at the 96th Academy Awards. “I often say that the Berlin Wall, North and South Korea, Kinmen and China were the three main battlefields of the Cold War. The Taiwanese may have forgotten this history, but it is worth developing and sharing with the rest of the world.”
Xi said South Korea's transformation into a film production and intellectual property powerhouse is something worth learning from, specifically how it has helped the country transform its international image. However, Xi admitted that his ministry's spending is still less than 1% of the government's total budget, something he is working hard to change. “Whenever I have the opportunity, I lobby for an increase in the budget of the Ministry of Culture, because I believe it is a very useful investment.”
Shi concluded by saying that new technologies create more opportunities for Taiwan to promote culture such as Apple's Vision Pro, allowing augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to become mainstream. “We should leverage this technology to expand Taiwanese content and allow creators to stay ahead of trends.”
