At a media gathering to launch her new book yesterday, Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) said transforming herself from a writer and social critic to director of the Taipei City Government's new Bureau of Culture was no small task, but she hopes her undertakings will influence the Chinese-language community worldwide.
Lung, who calls her absence from from Taiwan since 1987 "exile," returned from her base in Germany just last Thursday. Today, she takes her post as head of the culture bureau, now under the auspices of a preparatory committee.
One day before her new assignment, however, Lung said she wanted to retain her role as a writer and interact with her readers.
PHOTO: DAI LI-AN, LIBERTY TIMES
But the occasion yesterday perhaps gave her a taste of the future. Although she prefers to think of herself as an expert in "avoiding cameras and reporters," she was welcomed by just that -- a roomful of journalists -- together with her "readers."
"Sitting here, I have already started to adapt myself to my new role," Lung said.
"As a writer, I try to avoid TV coverage as much as I can because I am afraid of being recognized when I walk down the street. But as the director of the Bureau of Culture, I cannot do this. I have to articulate my concepts through the media so as to make myself understood," said Lung.
One of her colleagues offered her some words of caution at yesterday's event. Writer Yang Chao (楊照), who was invited to speak to the audience with Lung about her new book, warned of a "transformation" after taking her new post.
"Maybe three and a half years from now, she will be like [early 20th century writer and social critic] Lu Xun (
Lung, renowned for her sharp observations on social phenomena as well as her idealism, returned his comments with a smile.
"Perhaps from tomorrow [meaning today], I'll start attending the `cram school on darkness' ... In history, although idealistic, passionate people have ended up frustrated, I still appreciate a sort of human glory [in these precedents]; it's something I am willing to pursue," she said.
"Taipei nowadays sits at the center of the Chinese-language community worldwide, not at its margin. If the cultural projects in the city go well [after I lead the bureau], then my influence on the Chinese-language community will no longer be through my writings but through other means," she said.
Meanwhile, Lung said even her readers in China have shown concerns over the fact that a KMT-run city government is willing to recruit a writer like her -- someone famous for her criticism of the KMT -- as a civil servant.
The city's plan to establish the bureau had been aborted by partisan disputes in the city council under former mayor Chen Shui-bian (
The dispute was finally settled when Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) beat Chen last December. The council decision passed a resolution to establish the bureau in July.
The bureau, which will begin operations in November, will be Taiwan's first cultural bureau at the local government level.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in