Migrant workers and new immigrants were celebrated yesterday at Taipei Main Station for their contributions to Taiwan’s literary landscape, with many awardees using the moment to express both their gratitude for Taiwan and their frustrations over the limits they continue to face.
“We, the migrants and immigrants in this foreign land, are just so lucky that Taiwan has been generally kind to us,” Marvin Joaquin Alamag, a Filipino who won one of the three “Choice Awards,” said at the ceremony for the 10th Taiwan Literature Award for Migrants.
Taiwan, he added, “never fails to make us feel that we are seen, that we are heard, that we are valued.”
Photo: CNA
Alamag, 38, won NT$20,000 (US$637.45) with his Tagalog story “Ang Pagbabalik” (The Return), which follows the spirit of a Filipino worker who took his own life, as he navigates the memories of discrimination and exploitation he endured in Taiwan.
The fictional account drew inspiration from his 12 years working in an electronics-testing factory, Alamag said.
Despite the celebration, Alamag said he feels “sad” as he prepares to leave Taiwan in mid-December after reaching the maximum 12-year stay allowed for most migrant workers.
“It’s so hard to leave a place where I’ve lived for such a long time,” he said. Earning about NT$35,000 a month including overtime, he added he had already sent most of his belongings home to the Philippines. After returning home, he plans to take a break before seeking work opportunities in Europe.
“If I had the chance to work longer than that [12-year limit], I would love to,” he said.
The ceremony ended with the presentation of the “First Prize” to Nguy?n Th? Hi?n, a 23-year-old student from Vietnam. She received NT$150,000 for “The Rooftop Barber Shop” (頂樓的理髮店), a story that judges praised for its intimate portrayal of everyday migrant life in Taiwan.
Award founder Chang Cheng (張正) said the prize money is meant for immigrants “who are helping to write Taiwan’s history, and their own history.”
For Taiwan, he said, “they are carrying its history forward and writing a different kind of history.”
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park this weekend, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a theme food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances. Pokemon Go Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as photo attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs. Pokemon trainers could also experience the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area. Three PokeStops are to be set up in the park. Trainers are invited to take
RSS