Policies needed to support publishing, legislators sayBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) and Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜), as well as representatives from the publishing industry, yesterday called on the culture and finance ministries to support the publishing industry with better policies, as the number of new books published in the nation continues to fall. “Reading is a symbol of the national power of a country,” Chiud told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. Democratic Progressive Party legislators Chiu Chih-wei, left, and Kao Chia-yu attend a news conference in Taipei yesterday, calling on the government to do more to support the publishing industry. She said that while the publishing industry had initially been excited about the Ministry of Culture’s “Arts FUN Go” (藝FUN券) voucher program, due to the vouchers’ wide range of uses, only a portion has gone to the publishing industry. Steve Wu (吳政鴻), president of the New Taipei City Publishers Association, said that the publishing industry has seen about a 20 to 30 percent drop in sales this year, citing the association’s estimates.

Source: Taipei Times September 14, 2020 15:56 UTC