The visiting Nobel Prize in literature laureate Gao Xingjian (
Gao -- an exiled Chinese painter, writer and playwright -- said that the launch of the ten books, each one a separate play, is a great opportunity for readers to gain insight into how his writing style has changed over the years. He has been working on the dramas since the early 1980s.
The series includes almost all of Gao's dramas. The most prominent are his theatrical debut Signal Alarm (絕對信號), written in 1982, and The Bus Stop (車站), written the following year. The Bus Stop was condemned by Chinese Communist Party officials as "the most pernicious piece of writing published since the foundation of the People's Republic of China." The Other Shore (彼岸), which was banned in 1986, is included in the series.
The playwright told reporters that he believed dramas were best presented through acting and interaction with the audience, not in written form.
One of the primary purposes for Gao's trip to Taiwan is to finalize preparations for his drama August Snow (
The author said in an emotional moment that "time is so different, as if it has been cut off from the outside world for ages."
There is good reason for him to make such remarks. Gao became persona non grata in China as a result of his ideas and went through tremendous hardship when living in China.
Born in 1940, Gao grew up during the aftermath of the Japanese invasion and China's civil war. After receiving his basic education in schools of the communist regime, he earned a degree in French at Beijing Foreign Studies University. During the Cultural Revolution, which lasted from 1966 through 1976, intellectuals were punished and Gao was sent to a re-education camp. Much of his early works were burned during this period. He could not publish his work or travel abroad until 1979. He has been living in a Paris suburb since 1987.
Gao said the shift in his writing style was partly due to the volatility in his life. Writing in China, he said, was extremely constraining because of the suppression of the dictatorial regime.
"But now, with the change of space and time, writers can write freely. The only fear for a writer is the fear of not being able to transcend himself."
He said that it was of the utmost importance that he not repeat himself, and write with emotion and impulse.
The Nobel Prize winner conceded there was pressure that came with the award. He said that it was about time he declined all of the invitations to make time for himself and go back to work, having fulfilled most of his obligations as a Nobel Prize laureate.
"Otherwise, I am not myself. I am just like a salesperson," he added.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique