Tsai Kun-lin (蔡焜霖), who was imprisoned during the White Terror era for joining a book club, is to receive a special contribution award at this year’s Golden Comic Awards, the Ministry of Culture announced on Monday.
Tsai, 88, was arrested in 1950 at the age of 20, because he participated in a reading group that included a member involved in “communist propaganda,” and was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Green Island (綠島).
After leaving prison in 1960, Tsai established Prince Publishing Co. In 1966, he began publishing the semi-monthly magazine Prince, by taking advantage of relatively lax regulations governing the publication of comic books.
This provided a platform for local comic book writers to present their work, the judges for the award said.
The award recognizes Tsai’s courage and perseverance in fostering the publishing sector, the ministry said.
The ministry also released the list of 23 works nominated for this year’s Golden Comic Awards.
Ying Chang (英張) was nominated in the best new talent category for Use Your Eyes Before It’s Dark.
Online text and graphic designer Cherng (馬來貘) was nominated in the best comic strip collection category for his work featuring Malayan tapirs.
Wei Tsung-cheng (韋宗成) and Yi Huan (依歡) have been shortlisted for the best comic for teenage boys and teenage girls awards respectively.
Ruan Guang-min (阮光民), winner of last year’s Comic of the Year Award for Yong-Jiu Grocery Store (用九柑仔店), was nominated in the best comic for young adults category for the second entry in his Yong-Jiu Grocery Store series.
A total of 136 submissions were received for this year’s awards, which offers a total of NT$1.95 million (US$65,305) in prize money.
The winners are to be announced at a ceremony in September, the ministry said.
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