Culture Minister Lung Yingtai is calling on China to respond to Taiwan’s concerns about a controversial trade in services agreement.
Lung, who is also a renowned writer, made the comments on Wednesday. She said the agreement does not open up Taiwan’s publishing industry to China. She also said some of the provisions are beneficial to Taiwan. But Lung said cultural circles in Taiwan remain suspicious of the agreement. She called on China to respond to their concerns.
“You say you’re making concessions, but we’re worried if our books will be banned if we voice our views," said Lung. "I want to sing my songs, but does that mean my songs won’t be able to circulate? Will my plays be forcibly revised? Will my films disappear because their themes are not politically correct? If Beijing does not understand that this is the fundamental problem, then the trade in services agreement or the future trade in goods agreement won’t bring us real peace.”