Original animation from Taiwan has earned domestic and international acclaim in recent years, winning a number of international awards. The transition from producer of other people’s work to creator of our own original properties has proved challenging, but it is an objective to which all Taiwan’s animators aspire and one that has helped focus the creative talents of our industry.
In this issue, we look at cartoons ranging from the classic Grandma and Her Ghosts to the more recent Barkley and On Happiness Road, examining their inspirations and production processes. With government, industry and academia working together to push the current animation wave, we also explore the questions of how to support young people in using animation to tell stories, and how to build platforms that showcase talented individuals and their work.
Sport is a global language that transcends ethnic and cultural boundaries. Taiwan recently hosted the 2018 Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship. Featuring top international competitors and enthusiastic crowds, the tournament was broadcast in more than 170 countries and showed that Taiwan is capable of hosting top competitions.
Many of Taiwan’s hundreds of thousands of foreign workers consider our island their second home, and have been gradually integrating, no matter what their native language or customs. These workers have also introduced their preferred sports to Taiwan, where they have begun to take root. The 2018 Taiwan Cup International Immigrants Soccer Competition, which pitted eight outstanding immigrant teams against one another, is a case in point.
Taiwan’s cultural inclusivity is also apparent in the annual Asia‡Pacific Culture Day, which showcases our friendly relations with nations around the region; and in the six-week Taiwan phase of the Pacific Islands Leadership Program, which provides training to leadership fellows from 12 countries including the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, and Palau, and highlights Taiwan’s active pursuit of international ties.
A low-key space hides within the alleys of Yilan’s old town, telling stories of Taiwan. The works exhibited at “Juan I-jong’s Gallery of Taiwan Story” are part of a photographic dialogue between Juan I-jong and contemporary Taiwanese artists. Its first exhibition of 2019 will focus on Tamsui, enabling Juan to use his camera to highlight the beauty of its rural communities.
Lastly, this month we hope to further warm your heart and delight your eyes through a report on Tran Ngoc Thuy, who has compiled a glossary of Taiwanese legal terms in Chinese and Vietnamese, and the brilliant pictures that one of our photographers captured on Penghu’s Qimei Island.
