Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai, who is currently visiting London, had a brisk discussion with the host of 'Impact' on BBC World News on Monday. In the exclusive interview, the Minister touched upon the topics of Taiwan's recent Oscar honors and cross-strait cultural development.
She first said she was surprised but excited about Taiwanese director Ang Lee's second directorial Oscar for 'Life of Pi' and praised his contribution to the country, calling it 'just wonderful' news for the 'native son' of Taiwan.
'Life of Pi,' which explores faith through tales of a shipwrecked boy adrift on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, won four Academy Awards, the most of any film on a night when Oscars were spread fairly evenly among a number of high-profile productions.
Aside from Lee's Oscar for best director, the film was also honored for best cinematography, best visual effects and best original score.
'He could have made this film somewhere else, but he decided he wanted to do it in Taiwan,' she said to Mishal Husain, the host of BBC's 'Impact' show. A total of 90 percent of the film was shot in Taiwan, and Lee's team spent over 400 days working in the country.
The interview also touched on the cultural contrasts between Taiwan and China and the role of culture in relations across the Taiwan Strait.
When asked what is distinctive about Taiwanese culture, Lung said what makes Taiwan special is that it is 'a free place' and has an authentic civil society that is 'probably the only one in the greater China region.'
The 'good part of traditional Chinese culture' is best preserved in Taiwan, she said, because the country did not go through the wrenching political upheavals that China did over the past six decades.
Asked if she felt that Taiwan's culture is under threat from China, Lung said it was important for Taiwan to lessen its own insecurities by letting itself be understood by China and described culture as probably 'the most important means to reach peace.
Citing statistics showing that seven out of every 10 songs selected in Chinese karaoke joints are written by Taiwanese songwriters, the minister said the messages and values in the songs are probably the best means to bridge misunderstandings between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Developing mutual understanding is important, Lung said, because 'politicians' handshakes' cannot be trusted. Without mutual trust across the Taiwan Strait, treaties that have been signed can still 'be torn up,' she said.
Meanwhile, when asked about her book 'Big River, Big Sea — Untold Stories of 1949' on the Chinese Civil War and the lives of Kuomintang supporters who retreated to Taiwan after the war, Lung said the book pays tribute to a generation of people who died during the war.
She said it was like 'you never had a chance to say goodbye to your parents.' Lung said she and Lee share similar family backgrounds — both having parents who moved to Taiwan from China following the Kuomintang's defeat in the civil war.
That sense of loss and not having a chance to say goodbye can also be found in 'Life of Pi,' when the tiger walks away on the beach, she pointed out.