Taiwan cut the ribbon on its most ambitious international creative initiative ever this morning, highlighting the country’s advantages and leaving no doubt about the government’s commitment and support.

In his opening address for this year's TCCF event in Taipei, Minister of Culture, Shih Che, talked about designating Taiwan’s creative sector as a national strategic industry, along with a combination of government funding and private sector investment.

“This is just the beginning,” he told a packed audience gathered at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park.

The Minister highlighted the NT$10 billion budgeted over four years from 2024 – dubbed the 1+4 T-content plan (aka Black Tide in the direct translation from Chinese) – to provide support for the development of Taiwan’s cultural content industry.

He also placed Taiwan squarely at the meeting point between Asia and the rest of the world.

“We hope that through this platform the world will see we are confident of our culture and we hope to speak a common language with the world and we hope that the world will see Asian culture through Taiwan”.

"In the digital realm, Taiwan is by no means a small nation. When we strengthen Taiwan's cultural content, we are defending the territory of Taiwan's culture," he said.

Creative initiatives include the Creative Industry Promotion Act, which has already passed its third reading in the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan. 

"This means that not only will investments in the creative industry receive tax incentives, but the creative industry will also be officially included in the 'national strategic industry' category," he said in his opening address.

Starting in 2024, the NT$10-billion Taiwan Cultural Content Fund will provide comprehensive support for the development of Taiwan's cultural content industry in six major aspects of culture and the arts.

The fourth TCCF event runs shortly afterTaiwan's three leading telcos – Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile and Far Eastone – signalled their commitment to creative investments in MoU's with the government-backed Taiwan Creative Content Agency (Taicca).

Each of the three telcos operates its own streaming platform. 

In October, Chunghwa Telecom said it would invest NT$3 billion in film and television projects.

Taiwan Mobile's initiative with Warner Bros Discovery is also said to involve a NT$3-billion purse to fund development, production and distribution of premium video content.  

Far Eastone Telecommunications joined the other two a week ago with its own fund. 

This year's TCCF has three main components – a market, pitching and an innovation showcase. 

France leads the European presence, with nine companies on the market floor as part of a French pavilion and a total delegation in Taiwan of about 50 people.