"Taiwan Travelogue" Wins International Booker Prize; Author Yang Shuang-tzu Hopes for Publication in China to Promote Dialogue

(Central News Agency, London, 20th, Comprehensive Foreign Report) "Taiwan Travelogue" author Yang Shuang-tzu told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that she hopes her novel, which won the International Booker Prize, can be published and read in China in the future to promote a dialogue about "what kind of future the Taiwanese people want." Currently 41, Yang Shuang-tzu, and 32-year-old translator Christina Ting, jointly won the prestigious international award yesterday, marking the first time a Taiwanese author has received this highest honor recognizing outstanding works translated into English. This playful novel is set in 1930s Taiwan under Japanese rule and is cleverly disguised as a translated Japanese travelogue, with the author, Chizuko Aoyama, being a fictional character. The novel describes the travel and culinary adventures of the lively and extroverted Chizuko Aoyama in the colony, and the gradually developing relationship between her and her reserved Taiwanese translator, Chizuru. Although a work of historical fiction, the book delves into issues of power imbalance and cultural erasure. The author stated that this resonates with Taiwan's current situation, as China claims Taiwan as part of its territory. When asked about Taiwan's future, Yang Shuang-tzu confessed: "I have felt anxious countless times, repeatedly asking myself: is the power of literature too slow?" She told AFP in an interview today: "I often worry, and I often feel that maybe I should make a political statement, or take some kind of action, to get involved in other forms of social movements." "But in reality, as a novelist, I have decided to place my faith in literature and believe in the power of literature." After its publication in Taiwan in 2020, the work swept several literary awards but has so far been unable to be released in China. Yang Shuang-tzu stated: "If this book can enter China in some way and be read by Chinese readers, I think we will have an opportunity for dialogue and communication." "This will allow more Chinese people to understand what kind of future the Taiwanese people want, which is different from what many Chinese people imagine." Yang Shuang-tzu said: "I hope this book can inspire the Chinese-speaking world, showcasing a free and democratic country like Taiwan, where I can be openly out as a queer person, and we can achieve this together." Translator Christina Ting stated that unlike literature from former British colonies like Hong Kong, Taiwanese literature and its colonial history are still less known in the English-speaking world. Ting said: "For a Taiwanese work to be translated into English, published successfully, and gain recognition has always been an incredibly tough battle. So for me personally, this is definitely meaningf