Taipei City Government

Did you ever feel it was a waste of time watching a 3-minute-long public service announcement before the movie?

On January 27, Commissioner Chien Yu-yen of the Department of Information and Tourism (TPEDOIT) noted that the agency has contacted the Ministry of Culture (MOC) regarding the possibility of making changes to the rule. An alternative approach would be to replace the 3-minute-long public message time before the movie with important or emergency announcements only when needed.

Chien stated that moviegoers often complain that they have to sit through a few propaganda video clips before the feature film. It is similar to the situation of playing the national anthem in the movie theaters decades ago.

The Chief of Mass Media Affairs Division Shen Yong-hua stated that the 3-minute-long programming to promote government policies and public services is in compliance with Article 12 of the Motion Picture Act. He pointed out that the Act was implemented over 30 years ago. Given that the society today is very different from what it used to be, the government should adopt to changes and refrain from promoting policies through the media.

Theater operators complain that they are not public-owned businesses and therefore should not have the obligation to screen clips promoting government policies. Yet, they will risk fines if they remove the 3-minute-long public announcement programming.

MOC submitted the Motion Picture Act Amended Draft to Legislative Yuan in 2014. The draft initially removed Article 12, but was the Article was kept at the insistence of Executive Yuan.