By Taiwan Association of Cultural Policy Studies.
Image credit: Hualien Cultural Creative Industries Park by bfatphoto / Flickr, license: CC BY-ND 2.0 DEED.
Taiwan’s Cultural Policy
People are the mainstay of Taiwan’s culture, and “freedom” is at the centre of people’s thoughts and creations. Since the early 2000s, Taiwan has undergone a series of citizen-led cultural reforms, including a series of citizens’ cultural movements from 2000 to 2010 (such as the advocacy for community development and multicultural policies), the establishment of the Ministry of Culture in 2012, the National Cultural Conference in 2017/2022, and the White Paper on Cultural Policy in 2018. With the promotion of the Cultural Fundamental Act in 2019, Taiwan has, on the one hand, established the prototype of the country’s “cultural governance” system and civic and cultural awareness, and on the other hand, demonstrated its uniqueness in practising sustainable cultural democracy and participatory cultural governance among the global society, which will be elaborated in the following articles of this special issue.
However, there are still many problems with Taiwan’s cultural policy. First of all, the direction of the country’s cultural policy for the next four to eight years is still unclear, the Cultural Fundamental Act has not been systematically implemented, and the interaction between central and local cultural authorities and intermediary organisations is fragmented and sporadic; not to mention the lack of a mechanism for evaluating the sustainable impact of culture. Second, there is no consensus on the government’s involvement in the cultural, financial market and investment strategy. The evaluation of companies and corporate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is not systematically linked to the international goals of cultural sustainability.
In terms of cultural assets and spatial governance, the dilemma of the restoration, operation and management of cultural assets and interdepartmental coordination persists and is still far from the goals of the overall reconstruction of urban and rural spaces, the creation of living environments, and the integration of cultural preservation awareness into people’s daily lives. In addition, there is a lack of national digital, cultural, and technological infrastructure, a confusing division of labour between ministries, and a severe shortage of cultural and technological talent. Most importantly, the rights of arts and culture workers have yet to be properly protected. The contracting out of artistic production has often left the local cultural economy at the level of populist and consumptive cultural activities. In short, the abovementioned problems of Taiwan’s cultural policy emerge from the fact that the central and local governance platforms across cultural, economic, environmental, and social boundaries, as well as the ecosystem of interdisciplinary partnership networks, have yet to take shape.
In the global trend of sustainable cultural development, the international community advocates that the common future of mankind should be realised in a way that meets the current development needs without depriving future generations of their needs. In September 2022, the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development set the theme of “Culture as a Global Public Good” as the main axis of future development and recognised culture as a pivot alongside the environment, economy and social development in the 2030 and “post-2030” Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The concept note of the conference begins with, “Culture and cultural diversity are sources of enrichment for humankind and provide an important contribution to the sustainable development of cities, human settlements, and citizens, empowering them to play an active role in development initiatives. Culture is also a driver of sustainable development, contributing to fostering social inclusion and a strong economic sector. It generates income, creating decent jobs and addressing both the economic and social dimensions of poverty. Through cultural heritage, including its protection and preservation, it provides innovative and effective solutions to cross-cutting issues, such as education, health, gender equality and women’s empowerment, technology, and the environment.” The conference reiterates the importance of viewing culture as the driving force of sustainable development in diverse areas.
Likewise, the European Union also proposes a policy-oriented approach to the integration of culture into sustainable development in various fields, establishing a link between culture and regional and municipal programs, employment, social inclusion, justice, consumer rights, education and youth policies, single markets, digital economy, agricultural policies, climate and environmental policies, and even foreign security and defence policy. The integration of ESG into cultural SDGs has also become a consensus for sustainable corporate development. In this vine, there is a need for Taiwan’s future leaders to properly address cultural sustainability in their policy agendas.
The Mission of Taiwan Association of Cultural Policy Studies
The Taiwan Association of Cultural Policy Studies (TACPS) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to creating an open and accessible knowledge-sharing platform and developing a public sphere that facilitates cultural collaboration, dialogue, engagement, and rational debate among various stakeholders, including but not limited to academia, NPOs, cultural enterprises, creative industries, and governmental, cultural institutions in Taiwan and abroad.
In September 2023, TACPS, in collaboration with the Foundation for Future Generations, Taiwan, convened four expert forums on Taiwan’s cultural policy and governance. At the forums, we gathered opinions from practitioners, academics, and professionals in the fields of arts, culture, public policy, sociology, economics, business, heritage studies, architecture, design, urban planning, communication, technology, community regeneration, and labour rights.
On this basis, we announce the “TACPS Cultural Petition for the 2024 Presidential Election: The Sustainability of Culture and Democratic Governance in Taiwan,” a critical report generated from the forums and a response to the current cultural policy landscape in Taiwan. We advocate the five substantive cultural policy strategies for Taiwan’s future leaders. We believe that “cultural sustainability” and “participatory cultural democracy” will be the directions for the next generation of cultural policy. Resonating with the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development’s theme, culture is indeed a public good in Taiwan and needs to be viewed and treated so. Its public value and impact shall never be underestimated.
In this special issue, we examine in detail the five cultural policy strategies respectively in four articles. The five policy strategies include “Cultural Sustainability and Democratic Governance”, “Sustainability of Cultural Economy and Value Cycle”, “Cultural Assets and Spatial Redevelopment for Sustainability”, “Cultural Technology and Cultural Communication Sustainability”, and “Improving Conditions of Artistic Labor and Local Economic Sustainability.” While these strategies encompass a wide range of discussions, they all centre on creating a more sustainable environment for cultural production in Taiwan. Through the dialogues, we hope to not only provide constructive feedback and potential policy directions to future government leaders, but also inspire future generations to be engaged in the dialogues on culture, which is an essential and integral part of people’s everyday lives.
These proposed strategies are our petition to the 2024 presidential candidates to substantially change Taiwan’s current cultural policies in order to create a more sustainable ecosystem for cultural development. We hope that these strategies will provide Taiwan’s future leaders with constructive recommendations for their policy agendas.
The critical report that outlines the five strategies for sustainable cultural policy is compiled and organised by Dr Jerry C. Y. Liu (Graduate School of Arts Management and Cultural Policy, National Taiwan University of Arts), Dr Fang-Jay Rong (Department of Environmental and Cultural Resources, National Tsing Hua University), Dr Chih-hung Wang (Graduate Institute of Building and Planning, National Taiwan University), Dr Li-Jung Wang (Department of Hakka Language and Social Science, National Central University), and Dr Chieh-Hsiang Wu (Department of Arts in the National Changhua University of Education; Director of TACPS). Chee-Hann Wu edited the articles in this special issue with slight modifications made to enhance the readability for readers of Taiwan Insight.
This article was published as part of a special issue on Cultural Sustainability and Democratic Governance in Taiwan.