Leaders look to culture and entertainment as an economic stimulus

As the mainland's economy loses steam in one of the world's severest recessions, the leaders have turned to the history books for inspiration to counter the effects of soaring unemployment and widespread social discontent.

The leadership is understood to be putting together an ambitious and comprehensive programme to boost the development of the culture and entertainment industries in a bid to help disgruntled mainlanders seek refuge in music, books, films and sport.

They apparently drew inspiration from the unprecedented entertainment boom in the United States during the Great Depression, when Americans flocked to cinemas, theatres and bookstores.

In the long term, some believe, the culture and entertainment industries will become a main driver of economic growth as richer mainlanders spend more on cultural activities to fulfil their spiritual needs. Furthermore, the mainland also needs to build up its soft power (projecting the nation's power and influence through culture).

To their credit, officials started to explore ways to boost the cultural sector soon after the global economic crisis took hold late last year. In January, the state media quoted Premier Wen Jiabao as saying the crisis had presented a golden opportunity to turn culture into an industry.

In internal meetings, top propaganda officials at the central and provincial government levels repeatedly called for more effort to boost the development of film, books and other cultural areas, frequently referring to the entertainment boom in the US in the 1920s and 1930s.

Anecdotal evidence has lent credence to their calls. For instance, mainland box office sales recorded strong growth despite the global economic crisis, registering a robust increase of 29 per cent in January. Officials have predicted box-office sales will rise at least 20 per cent and reach 5 billion yuan (HK$5.68 billion) for the whole of this year.