Minister Gu stated that Chang Fang-tzu is a major woman writer and poet in Taiwan’s Hakka community and poetry scene. This year, Chang was invited to participate in the Festival Internacional de Poesía de Guayaquil, where she recited her own works in Hakka. Besides proving the versatility of Hakka literature, this also demonstrates the depth and breadth of Taiwan’s multiculturalism to international poets and literary circles.
Poet Chang Fang-tzu also published a new book, Sé que has estado aquí (你來過這裡, “I know that you’ve been here”), which combines poetry reading with taiko drumming to promote Hakka culture and facilitate exchanges of Hakka literature between Taiwan and South America. Chang Fang-tzu said that although Ecuador is still an emerging economy with relatively challenging living conditions, the poetry festival has been held for 18 consecutive years, demonstrating that “spiritual nourishment can persevere through everything at times”.
Chang Fang-tzu also mentioned that she recited many poems at the poetry festival, such as Strap (揹帶), a metaphor for a kind of “umbilical cord” that ties us back to our origin, reminding us where we come from anywhere in the journey of life; Make Way (讓路) conveys the importance of avoiding greed and leaving space for others; and I Stand Here (我等企在這位) expresses how only the encouragement by her parents, teachers, relatives, friends, and kindhearted people along the way allowed her to step on the global stage. It also emphasizes that the spirit of Taiwan transcends ethnicity. The international community should witness the strength of Taiwan, realizing the crucial importance of its continued existence. The hope is that the world can regard Hakka culture in a more global light.