Li Yuan meets at Paris Mitterrand Library, focusing on digital publishing and cultural creativity

Minister of Culture Li Yuan concluded his itinerary in the United Kingdom on the 10th and immediately traveled to Paris, France, where he was invited to visit the François Mitterrand Building of the National Library of France. The visit was personally arranged by the library's president, Gilles Pécout. Their discussion inside the library focused not only on book collection and preservation efforts, but also extended to exchanges on cultural policy and creative practices. As Li serves as both a writer and a film and television creator, this dialogue naturally resonated within the fields of literature and imagery, and the two appeared particularly compatible as they shared their respective creative experiences.

The National Library of France is one of the largest and most historic libraries in Europe. Founded in 1461, it has accumulated more than 40 million books and manuscripts to date. The François Mitterrand Building is a modernized main facility inaugurated in 1996 and named after the former French president, symbolizing France's forward-looking spirit in information and cultural preservation. President Pécout, who has headed the library since 2020, has been dedicated to promoting digitization and transnational cooperation, while frequently inviting international cultural leaders to participate in forums to enhance the library's international visibility. His reception of Li is part of his initiative to promote cross-cultural dialogue.

Li has been active in Taiwan's literary and film circles since the 1990s. In addition to being renowned for his novels and prose, he has also worked as a film screenwriter and director, with his works receiving recognition from the Golden Horse Awards and Golden Bell Awards on multiple occasions. As Minister of Culture, his tenure has focused on promoting cultural and creative industries and public reading policies, emphasizing the integration of creation and industry while actively securing resources for international cultural exchanges. This sharing session at the National Library of France allowed him to articulate the developmental trajectory of Taiwan's literature, film, television, and publishing sectors from the perspective of a creator, while also demonstrating Taiwan's achievements and challenges in cultural innovation to his French counterparts.

During the talks, Li specifically highlighted Taiwan's recent advancements in digital publishing and library information services, expressing a desire to cooperate with France in digital archiving and library interoperability. Pécout shared the French library's experience with big data applications and open access policies, pointing out that European nations are enhancing the efficiency of academic resource sharing through common platforms. Both sides agreed that deepening cooperation in areas such as database interconnectivity, co-hosted exhibitions, and seminars would help protect and disseminate the cultural assets of both countries, while also bringing new opportunities to academic and creative industries.

This trip is not merely a personal academic exchange by the Minister of Culture, but also carries broader diplomatic significance. In recent years, the Taiwanese government has continued to use cultural diplomacy as a bridge to enhance international visibility and soft power. From last year's literature festivals in the UK to this library visit in France, Taiwan is showcasing its diverse creativity and open attitude to the world through pluralistic cultural platforms. If future cooperative projects in publishing, film, television, and literary creation yield results, it will inject new momentum into the internationalization of Taiwan's cultural industries and is expected to secure more room for Taiwan to make its voice heard in international cultural policy dialogues.

In summary, Li's visit to the National Library of France was both a sharing of personal creative experiences and an in-depth dialogue on cultural policy. Through candid exchanges with President Pécout, the two parties not only deepened their mutual understanding of library functions and cultural preservation, but also laid a concrete foundation for future cooperation in digital archiving, transnational publishing, and creative industry partnerships. Such high-level cultural interactions hold long-term and profound significance for enhancing Taiwan's visibility on the international cultural stage, promoting industrial innovation, and deepening the cultural connections between the peoples of both countries.