So far, response from the public has been positive, with a total of eight recipients. What has impressed the foundation more, however, is the interest expressed from the corporate side. Publishing companies and the Taipei City Government have established similar grants to encourage novel writing.
Lee's next project is to introduce exchanges similar to the residency programs available to Taiwanese visual artists, in which an artist can spend up to a year in a foreign country. More specifically, he would like to work with international government offices in Taiwan on funding foreign translators to come and work with writers on translating their work. The project, he feels, would be of mutual benefit to both countries.
"Having translators come to work here provides them with a cultural background, giving them more insight into the piece they are translating. It would also help to bring more Taiwanese literature into the international community."
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