The 42nd Golden Tripod Awards ceremony was held on the afternoon of Oct. 4 in Taipei. Awards were given out to 29 works and 35 publications recommended across 20 fields in four categories: magazines, books, government publications, and digital publications.
Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chun remarked that publishing is the force with the greatest reach in terms of influencing society, and that reading provides some of the most essential nourishment an individual can get. In the face of the challenges of the digital age, Taiwan must value its opportunities to communicate its culture, and strive to maintain a free, diverse, and open publishing environment, she added.
Minister Cheng also noted that the revitalization of publishing is the revitalization of culture, and at its core is encouraging freedom to create, share, and communicate. The Ministry of Culture launched creativity subsidies for youths last year, and the budget for these is set to grow fourfold next year to aid original Taiwanese creative efforts grow from strong roots. The budget for literary translations will also be increased to help take Chinese-language writings to the wider world.
The Special Contribution Award this year was awarded to Chiu Ko Publishing Company’s chief editor Chen Su-fang (陳素芳). Chen has served Chiu Ko for over 36 years, and in accepting her award, she thanked the company's founder Tsai Wen-fu (蔡文甫) for introducing her to the world of publishing. She went on to say that Taiwan has much to be proud of in the world of Chinese-language publishing, with the literary publications coming out of the country reflecting the current circumstances in Taiwanese society.
Chen concluded that each book is like a dream, and thanked all the writers she has worked with for giving her the chance to accompany them on their journeys of passion, which restored her faith in the world of literature and made her job a joy.
To help raise the visibility of Taiwan's outstanding literary creations, the Ministry of Culture will not only work with both the Ministry of Education and local governments to recommend award winners and other excellent works, but also release videos of interviews with this year's prize winners. For more information on the winners and recommended works, please visit the Golden Tripod Awards website at http://goldentripodawards.moc.gov.tw/.