The adoption of a plan on the development of cultural industries by the State Council sends the message that the central government will lend both policy and financial support to the growth of the cultural sector. This is the right thing to do to meet the ever-increasing needs of the general public for cultural consumption after the dramatic improvement of material living standards in the past three decades.
As far as cultural consumption is concerned, China has a huge potential market. Cinemas, galleries, cultural activity centers, theaters and concert halls have all been traditionally clustered in urban areas. It used to be a big event for a film to be shown to villagers in the open. So was a local or Peking opera show on a makeshift stage in the open.
Such units as publishing houses, singing and dancing troupes, opera theaters and other cultural institutions will be restructured into enterprises to live on their own rather than being attached to government departments as parasites, according to the plan. Only when they are concerned with the necessity of making profits for survival will they really care about how their products are received by the audience.
Only in competition will it be possible for creative artists to struggle to find their way out, and present their best works to the audience. It is necessary for the government to lend policy support to the development of giant cultural enterprises, which are expected to be creative in the production of quality cultural products such as music, cartoon films or TV movies.
Government support is by no means arbitrary administrative intervention with the operation of a particular cultural enterprise. Restructuring must make sure that cultural enterprises have enough freedom to operate on their own and to decide what they produce for the audience.
Whatever the policy support and government input in the development of cultural undertakings and enterprises, it is crucial to tap the potential of cultural consumption market in the rural areas. The increase in rural cultural consumption will not just enrich their cultural lives but also widen their horizon. That will help them with the construction of a new socialist countryside and create a taste for quality cultural products.
It is unrealistic to expect that policy and financial support will result in big cultural enterprises in a short period and give rise to quality cultural products. It will take time for cultural enterprises to grow big and it also takes time to cultivate artists. It will take time for the majority of Chinese to adapt to the consumption of cultural products even if they can afford to.
To have such a development plan is only the first step. Much needs to be done to create an environment for a prosperous cultural market.
(China Daily 09/28/2009 page4)