New SARFT Head

Cai Fuchao (蔡赴朝) was recently appointed the new minister of SARFT (The State Administration of Radio， Film and Television) and deputy chief of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee，replacing Wang Taihua， 65， who retired.

Cai， 60， has been vice mayor of Beijing since January 2008， and was also previously head of the publicity department of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Under his leadership，leading Chinese cable operator Beijing Gehua CATV Network(歌華有線) completed its cable television installation program， and was the first urban operator to offer free high-definition digital set-top box service.

As the new head of SARFT， one of Cai’s duties will be to find new ways to generate revenue through digital cable services. By the end of 2010 China had 88.48 million digital cable TV users， accounting for nearly 50% of all television viewers in the country.So far， fourteen provinces have finished their digital cable network integration and seventeen provinces — more than 90 million subscribers — are still awaiting digital cable service. Total revenue in the broadcast industry for 2010 was RMB 210 billion (USD 32.3 billion). However， analysts say that compared to the telecom industry， which enjoys more flexible policies and fewer restrictions， the broadcast industry has limited growth opportunities.

“The cable television network realized a bump in income in 2007 due to fees from subscribers who had switched from analog TV to digital cable service. However the income growth rate has slowed since 2009 as the number of users signing up for value-added services has slowed， and therefore SARFT is eager to find new business opportunities，” says one analyst in the broadcast sector.

Prior to joining the publicity department of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee in 1998， Cai worked at Beijing Daily for 21 years， starting there as a reporter and eventually rising to deputy editor-in-chief. He is a fan of traditional Chinese culture， and was the playwright of a performance of the Beijing opera Red Cliff that was staged in December 2008 to celebrate the first anniversary of the National Grand Theater. He has said that he believes the creative industries will play a strategic role in China’s economy.

CAREER MILESTONES

1971-1975

Worker at Beijing Xuanwu Transportation Packaging Factory

1975-1979

Officer， Publicity Sector of Beijing Traffic Bureau， Xuanwu District

1979-1984

Reporter， Beijing Daily

1984-1986

Deputy Director， Industry and Commerce Sector， Beijing Daily

1986

Director， Finance and Trade Sector， Beijing Daily

1986-1989

Beijing Daily Editorial Board， Director， Finance and Trade Sector

1989-1990

Beijing Daily Editorial Board， Director， Chief Editor’s Office

1990-1998

Deputy Editor-in-Chief， Beijing Daily

1998-2000，

Vice Minister of the Propaganda Department of the CPC， and Director， Beijing Municipal Foreign Propaganda Office

2000-2002

Deputy Secretary General of the Beijing Municipal CPC Committee， Office of the Deputy Director (Bureau)

2002-2008

Minister of Propaganda Department of the Beijing Municipal CPC Committee

2008-2011，

Vice Mayor of Beijing and Minister of Propaganda Department of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee

February 2011

Director of State Administration of Radio， Film and Television and

Vice Minister of Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee