To make inroads to Malaysia, the largest Chinese-speaking market in Southeast Asia, the Ministry of Culture will organize a series of innovative fringe events to accompany the Taiwan Pavilion at the 2014 BookFest Malaysia.
The fringe events include author meetings with eight established writers from Taiwan, as well as a literature-inspired concert featuring Taiwanese singers Maggie Chiang (江美琪) and Peter Pan (潘裕文) and Taiwan-born Malaysian singer Freya Lim (林凡).
Throughout the nine-day book fair, the Taiwan Pavilion will also screen Golden Horse Award-winning movies and documentaries on Culture Award winners Lee Tai-hsiang (李泰祥), Lin Wen-yueh (林文月), Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), and Dong Yang-zi (董陽孜), as well as influential Taiwanese writers such as Lin Hai-yin (林海音), Chou Meng-tieh (周夢蝶), and Yu Kwang-zhong (余光中).
There are an estimated 7 million ethnic Chinese in the Southeast Asian nation, and Malaysiaalone accounts for close to 16 percent of Taiwan's total book exports each year. Moreover, the Ministry of Culture has partnered with the Malaysian Institute of Translation & Books to produce both translated Chinese and Malay literature.
Acknowledging Chinese-language readers to all be compatriots under the auspices of a common language, Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai stated that the combination of publishing, popular music, and audiovisual materials can help present a more wholesome understanding of Taiwan's literature.
The 9th BookFest Malaysia will be held from July 26 to Aug. 3 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. More than 300 publishers will participate through the Taiwan Pavilion to display over 20,000 publications. Read more about the fringe events here.
hinese-language readers are all compatriots under the auspices of a common language, Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai stated on July 22, 2014.