Taiwan's Cabinet-level Council for Cultural Affairs (CCA) is assessing the possibility of opening branches in China to better serve Taiwanese companies dedicated to the cultural innovation industry amid more frequent cross-Taiwan Strait exchanges, an official said Saturday. Johnson Chiu, deputy CEO of Taipei Culture Foundation, told selfnews that although the plan is still on the drawing board, the CCA might follow in the footsteps of the quasi-official Taiwan External Trade Development Council by opening footholds in major Chinese cities and stationing officials there to serve more Taiwanese businessmen. Chiu's remarks echoed a response by CCA Chairman Emile Sheng in a legislative hearing in late April that his council might be able to establish semi-official offices in China this year. According to Chiu, many Taiwan cultural innovation firms have called for government assistance, particularly on the tax problems and legal consultations, to help them tap the Chinese market. Chiu is now in Shanghai for the 2010 Taipei-Shanghai twin-cities exhibition on cultural innovation, which will be held June 17-20 in the Chinese city. 'The major purpose of the exhibition is to provide a more effective platform to help the many small cultural innovation businesses from Taiwan build an image and distribute their products,' he explained. Many Taiwanese companies of this kind in Shanghai are promoting their brands through department stores, five-star hotels or shopping malls. 