Taiwan Creative Content Fest Opens in Taipei as TAICCA Chief Declares 'Culture Is Power'

By Elena Vasquez

TAICCA chair Sue Wang opened the seventh Taiwan Creative Content Fest in Taipei on Friday with a direct challenge to the industry's deepest anxiety: artificial intelligence. Wang told the opening audience that AI is reshaping how the creative industries — and human society itself — are defined.

"We are all asking: Does cultural content still have a future?" Wang said.

Her answer was yes, with a condition. Wang said AI can absorb technical tasks but cannot replace the elements of creative work that move people. She urged Taiwan to deploy its technology strengths in ways that serve people and improve their lives.

"I hope more people believe that culture is power," Wang said. "Especially in this rapidly changing era, cultural content can help create a happier society."

How big is this year's TCCF?

The numbers mark the event's scale. The market floor holds 107 exhibitors from seven countries. Pitching sessions present 92 projects and stories spanning film, series, animation, documentaries, publishing and comics. Industry participants come from 28 countries — roughly one attendee delegation for every exhibiting country group, a measure of how far the event's reach now extends beyond Taiwan.

Wang framed this year's edition as a milestone. "Everyone is working hard to build partnerships and integration, both horizontally and vertically," she said. "Cross-sector, cross-platform and cross-border collaboration has become a trend."

The four-day Forum runs 12 sessions with more than 20 speakers. Topics include:

• International co-production
• Streaming-platform consolidation
• Intellectual property
• Short-form content
• Artificial intelligence

Who attended the opening?

Actor Allison Lin hosted the ceremony. Culture Minister Li Yuan attended, alongside Wang Ting-an, executive secretary of the National Development Fund under the Executive Yuan. International executives included Weta FX CEO Daniel Seah and Toei Company President and CEO Yoshimura Fumio.

Diplomatic representation came from Frédéric Laplanche, director of the French Office in Taipei; Fernando Mariano Schmidt Hernández, director of the Chilean Trade Office in Taipei; and Marco Lombardi of the Italian Economic, Trade and Cultural Promotion Office in Taipei, among other local and international figures.

Li Yuan brought institutional memory to the podium. He chaired the evaluation committee at TCCF's first edition and said he has watched the event grow from an exhibition into a market and an international platform.

"Now we're thinking about the future of Taiwan's cultural content ecosystem and how TCCF can become an Asian creative-content brand, helping cultural workers across Asia and around the world find opportunities and funding," Li said. "That is one of the key goals behind the Ministry of Culture and TAICCA."

The statement signals an ambition larger than a trade show: TCCF is positioning itself as infrastructure for funding and deal-making across the region's content industries.

TCCF runs Nov. 6–9 at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 2. Whether the event's cross-border pitch market can convert AI-era uncertainty into co-production deals will be the measure of Wang's claim that culture is power.