In an apparent U-turn, the Government Information Office (GIO) yesterday said it had established a task force to push for Taiwan to be chosen as a theme country at next year’s Angouleme International Comics Festival.
The announcement came one day after the GIO, citing budgetary and time constraints, said it had turned down the invite from the organizers of the Angouleme International Comics Festival to have Taiwan featured in the convention next year as a theme country.
At the time, officials said the offer had been rejected in favor of a smaller comic festival in France — the Chambery Comic Book Festival — in October, because it offered more favorable financial incentives, adding that the GIO would push for Taiwan’s presence at the Angouleme International Comics Festival as a theme country in 2013 when it -celebrates its 40th anniversary.
Following its change of mind, the GIO issued a statement yesterday that said it would “whole-heartedly strive to have Taiwan featured as a theme country at the Angouleme International Comics Festival in January next year.”
“By focusing international attention on Taiwan’s original comic books, the GIO hopes to combine the efforts of the public and private sectors to ensure Taiwan’s comic books shine on the world stage,” it added.
The statement was issued just a few hours after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) made a call to the government, asking it to reconsider its decision on Wednesday.
To back out of an international comic book convention is unfair to artists and a “missed opportunity” for Taiwan’s comic industry to bask in the international spotlight, she said in a statement yesterday.
Tsai said that inclusion in the Angouleme festival would provide a major boost to Taiwan’s struggling creative industries and was international recognition of past efforts by Taiwanese artists.
“To reject the invitation based on the reasoning that ‘Taiwan’s comic book [industry] needs to accumulate more strength’ would be extremely unfair to artists,” Tsai said, referring to another of the GIO’s reasons for turning down the invitation.
“I don’t know why the government would seek to block participation, given that so many artists have worked hard for exactly this kind of global recognition and would love to play the role of ‘theme country,’” she said. “Many comic book artists have told me that they want the government to reverse its decision.”
“Attending the convention would have given our creative artists a chance to shine on the international stage,” she added.
The Angouleme International Comics Festival reportedly draws more than 400,000 visitors annually and Taiwan has been a regular participant since 1995.
Earlier this year, Taiwan Comix, a collection of works by 12 Taiwanese comic book artists, finished among the seven finalists for the Alternative Comics Award.
The Chambery festival is the second largest in France and attracts about 300,000 visitors.
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