Director of Publishing Department is heartbroken because publishers are easily manipulated.

Mr. Chu Hoa - Director of the Department of Publishing, Printing and Distribution, commented that violations in the book industry are happening more and more, partly because publishers compromise and lose their decisive role to their partners.

- In 2014, the Ministry of Information and Communications took a stronger stance against violations in the publishing sector, penalizing hundreds of publications. As a manager, what do you think about this situation?

- Violations in the publishing sector are not new. However, after the Publishing Law was issued in 2012, at the end of 2013, the legal corridor with full penalty mechanism was completed with Decree 159. This is an important factor, the basis for the Publishing Department to punish violators, like "when the net is patched, the fish can emerge".

As of December 31, 2014, we have penalized 399 large and small violations. Seriously violating publications such as books with inappropriate illustrations, books that insult the reputation of individuals and organizations; or works with many incorrect contents such as Vu Chat's Vietnamese Dictionary... when discovered, are quickly withdrawn and penalized.

There are still many shortcomings, but we must also acknowledge the contribution and development of the publishing industry in recent years. In 2014, the number of published books reached 350 million, an increase of 50 million copies compared to 2013. The number of imported publications was 15 million.

Director Chu Hoa shared that violations must be resolutely dealt with to bring the publishing industry to new heights and regain the trust of society. Photo: Duc Hiep.

- So, in your opinion, what is the main cause of the above violations?

- The main reason is that the publishers' partners always try to take advantage of management loopholes and circumvent the law to bring low-quality products to the market and make profits. They take advantage of the publishers' weakness to manipulate, partners from having no power to using money to trade for the publishers' decision-making power. When the publishers' business is unprofitable and lacks investment, they gradually compromise and "drop" the assigned position and role. The more difficult the units are, the easier they are to be manipulated. This is a very painful reality.

The next reason is that some publishers have a disorganized and unqualified leadership structure, so their management is weak and lax. Therefore, they do not strictly implement the Publishing Law, nor do they carefully censor content before publishing.

The lack of attention from the governing body is also the cause of the above violations. In addition, the state management system in many localities is not strict, so pirated books, fake books, and junk books are sold everywhere.

- In joint activities, the fact that the publisher's right to "decide" on publications is manipulated by the partner has led to many violations. How will the Ministry of Information and Communications handle this issue?

- The Publishing Law clearly stipulates that the director, editor-in-chief, and those who decide to publish and distribute will be responsible before the law for the content of the book, the time and quantity of distribution. Currently, the law allows for the same punishment for both publishers and affiliated partners when there are violations, so we have the basis to handle it more strongly.

State management is also an indispensable part of the publishing industry. The Department will strengthen inspections to detect errors in the process, in order to regain the trust of society in the publishing industry. However, to thoroughly handle violations, it still requires the cooperation of the government, departments at all levels and the people.

- How will the arrangement, organization and planning of publishing houses be carried out in the coming time?

- Early 2015 will be the time to renew the operating licenses of publishers. This is also an opportunity for the Publishing Department to review. Any publisher that does not comply with current regulations will be closed.

Recently, the Department of Publishing, Printing and Distribution has advised the Ministry of Information and Communications to propose to the Government and the National Assembly to approve a number of issues to perfect publishing houses, such as each province should have no more than one publishing house, except Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City; publishing houses should self-regulate their operations according to market mechanisms; each publishing house should only ensure a specific task.

Recently, the Ministry of Information and Communications sent a dispatch requesting 14 governing bodies to quickly complete the team of editors-in-chief and directors of 15 publishing houses before March 31, 2015.

- Can you share about the specific actions of the Publishing Department in improving the quality of the publishing industry and regaining the people's trust?

- Currently, the Ministry of Information and Communications coordinates with the Government and ministries to develop projects and programs such as: National Book Program, project to restore book distribution network in remote, border and island areas... In addition, the Publishing Department has been and is the agency directly advising the Ministry of Information and Communications in coordination with ministries and branches to develop favorable policies for the publishing industry.

On the other hand, the Department will organize training courses and issue certificates of operation to students. Strengthen human resource management, when there are errors depending on the level, the management agency can impose sanctions or suspend operations, even revoke the certificates of editors. All the necessary and sufficient premises and factors are in place, the Department hopes that 2015 will be a pivotal year to change the face of the publishing industry.

According to VnExpress