Taipei, Sept. 2 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen is looking forward to more democratic and diverse dialogue at the 2017 National Cultural Congress that kicked off in Taipei Saturday.

During her speech at the opening ceremony, Tsai welcomed scholars and the public to engage in discussion and come up with ideas that can elevate current cultural policies.

"Times are changing, so the country should be shifting and cultural policies should be elevated," Tsai said in her speech.

The president said that "we are all cultural citizens, each with the right to find the core values of Taiwan's culture."

The 2017 National Cultural Congress is a culmination of cultural congresses that have taken place throughout the country from March to June this year that have allowed members of the public to express their thoughts on the administration's cultural policies.

Minister of Culture Cheng Li-Chiun reiterated this sentiment, saying that cultural policies must come from a bottom-up approach, inviting all citizens to contribute their ideas.

The president, who attended the last National Cultural Congress in 2002 in her role as head of the Mainland Affairs Council, acknowledged Taiwan's soft cultural power, examples of which include the opening ceremony of the 2017 Universiade and HBO Asia's TV series The Teenage Psychic, as "not paling in comparison to those of other countries."

These examples are proof that cultural policies and people's lives are related, she said.