Premier Cho: Taiwan Lucky to Have Yang Shuang-tzu and Jin Ling, Vows to Bolster Support for Literary Publishing

(CNA, Taipei, May 21) In response to the Taiwanese novel "The Stroll in Taiwan" winning the prestigious International Booker Prize, Premier Cho Jung-tai said today that having author Yang Shuang-tzu and translator Jin Ling is Taiwan's good fortune, and for the world to see "The Stroll in Taiwan" is a source of pride for the entire nation. He stated that the government will continue to support cultural creation and creative freedom, and will review related incentive, cultivation, and promotion mechanisms. This year, the UK's International Booker Prize, a major event in the English-language literary world and an annual international literature award, was awarded to the novel "The Stroll in Taiwan," written by Taiwanese author Yang Shuang-tzu and translated into English by Jin Ling. "The Stroll in Taiwan" previously won Taiwan's Golden Tripod Award for literary books in 2021, and in 2024, it received the grand prize of the Japan Translation Award and the US National Book Award for Translated Literature. To date, its rights have been sold in 24 countries, and it has sold over 40,000 copies in Taiwan. Executive Yuan Spokesperson Li Hui-chih, during a press conference after the Executive Yuan meeting today, relayed that Premier Cho praised Yang Shuang-tzu and Jin Ling for winning a major award in the world of English translated literature. He noted this is the first time a Taiwanese literary work has received this honor and thanked the two for bringing Taiwanese literature to the world, promoting the English-speaking world's understanding of Taiwan, and bringing glory to the nation. In her acceptance speech, Yang Shuang-tzu mentioned, "To be born a Taiwanese is my good fortune; to be able to stand here as a Taiwanese writer is my pride." Premier Cho responded by saying, "Having Yang Shuang-tzu and Jin Ling is Taiwan's good fortune, and for the world to see 'The Stroll in Taiwan' is the pride of all of Taiwan." He emphasized that the government will continue to support cultural creation and creative freedom, allowing more Taiwanese works to shine on the world stage. He has instructed the Ministry of Culture to review current literature support policies, strengthen the reward, cultivation, and promotion mechanisms for the literary publishing industry, and increase the prize money for winning international competitions to provide more substantial support to creators, translators, and publishers.