Taiwan will subsidize research and development to set up an online Chinese-language digital publications service similar to that of Amazon.com, shouldering up to 40 percent of the expense therefor.
Woody T. J. Duh, director-general of the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) of Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), indicated that unlike the closed business platform of the U.S.-based Amazon.com, Taiwan plans to establish an open platform that will allow for cross-industry and transnational cooperation, offering digital publications in many languages in addition to Chinese that are readable using any kind of e-book reader.
In this regard, the IDB will invest over US$66 million on related projects over the next five years to promote the development of the electronic publications industry in Taiwan. The IDB estimates that by the end of the first quarter of 2010, five to six Taiwanese electronics manufacturers will be producing e-book readers.
With keen interest in technical and content-related cooperation between businesses in Taiwan and China, authorities on each side of the Taiwan Strait have already in principle agreed to adopt the free and open EPUB digital standard.
The MOEA plans to engage in further talks with its Chinese counterpart on information exchange standards in June of next year, paving the way for e-book content providers to create a platform for collaboration between Taiwan and China in developing the Chinese-language market.
With its marriage of high technology, the Internet and digital content, and with e-book readers taking the place of notebook and desktop computers in accessing a variety of online services, the up-and-coming e-book industry is beginning to flourish globally.
The MOEA stated that it will provide subsidies to developers and producers of various technologies, products and services in Taiwan with the aim of expediting integration of a strong e-book industry chain.
Far EasTone Telecommunications has already applied to the MOEA for financial assistance in its bid to become Taiwan's first provider of e-book content to mobile readers using WIMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) communications technology in coordination with publishers, software developers and hardware manufacturers. |
