Culture Minister Hung Meng-chi (洪孟啟) was joined by Taiwanese writers Liao Yu-hui (廖玉蕙), Lee Ru-cing (李如青), and Gan Yao-ming (甘耀明) and rock band Power Station (動力火車) at a June 30 press conference held to send off Taiwan's delegation to the 2015 BookFest Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.
As Taiwan's literature continues to blossom in the nation's free environment and open democracy, the Ministry of Culture aims to combine Taiwanese music and film to present the diversity of Taiwanese literature through the annual Malaysian book fair, which runs from July 11 through 19 this year.
More than 300 publishing companies and 7 contemporary writers － Liao, Lee, Gao, Chen Xue (陳雪), Lee Rui-teng (李瑞騰), Wang Hao (王浩), and Jhong Yi-wen (鐘怡雯) －will attend the 2015 BookFest. The Taiwan Pavilion will focus on introducing the diversity of Taiwan's literature to overseas readers, especially those in Southeast Asia, and encouraging cross-cultural exchanges.
The pavilion has also lined up 9 days of film screenings, including feature films on Taiwanese classics, television series on Taiwanese landscapes that have inspired literature, and documentaries on local independent bookstores.
The Ministry's cultural office in Kuala Lumpur will also partner with Popular Book (Malaysia) to hold a film festival at the book fair using resources from Taiwan's Cultural Toolkit digital platform.
Rounding up the series of literature-themes events is the Taiwan Literature & Music Night concert, which will feature performances by Taiwanese singer Where Chou (周蕙), rock band Power Station (動力火車), and Malaysian-Chinese pop idol Nicholas Teo (張棟樑) on July 18. Their literature-inspired songs will demonstrate how lyrics and literature influence each other in terms of creativity.
Taiwan Literature and Music Night
- Date: July 18 @ 7:30 PM~9:30 PM
- Venue: Plenary Hall
- Location: Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Malaysia
- Entry: Free of charge
